Regulatory agencies in India, vested with quasi-judicial powers, play a pivotal role in economic governance. Their orders significantly impact market participants and public trust. However, deficiencies in reasoning, structure, and clarity in these orders often undermine regulatory legitimacy and efficiency, leading to increased appeals and diminished stakeholder confidence. For example, stakeholders lose confidence if regulatory actions are not seen as fair and regulators lose legitimacy if they do not follow procedure established by law and principles of natural justice. Well-written orders also reduce the burden on appellate and review fora and the likelihood of an order being overturned.
This explainer summarises our principled framework for good regulatory order writing and translates these principles into measurable indicators applied to orders issued by regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, Competition Commission of India, and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, among others.