If regulation is to remain in place, it must prove its worth

It’s not quite that simple when it comes to laws, but with all the surrounding regulations and rules, it might soon become a reality: only allowing them to remain in force if they achieve their objective and there is no better alternative. A new study by the Foundation for Family Businesses shows where in the world regulation with an expiry date has already been tried and tested.

Munich, 16 March 2026. Australia, South Korea and two US states – these examples offer encouragement, according to Dr Matthias Kullas and Dr Anja Hoffmann of the Centre for European Policy (CEP) in Freiburg. Sunset clauses, which require the evaluation of regulations and administrative provisions, should therefore also be introduced gradually in Germany.

Reliable data and methods, a smart tool, an external authority to carry out independent scrutiny, and maximum transparency in communication – these are the conditions necessary to ensure that the evaluation does not degenerate into a farce and that clear decisions follow: for or against the continuation of the regulation in question.

So, after sunset, the sun does not reliably rise again for everyone. Unnecessary regulations are left behind in eternal night. In Australia, for example, legal instruments must pass the ‘fitness for purpose test’ in order to survive. The inertia of regulation is broken.

The examples from abroad examined on behalf of the Foundation for Family Businesses also suggest that a high-level political body must make the reduction of red tape its priority. In South Korea, this is the Prime Minister himself. Public recognition for authorities that genuinely reduce the scope of regulations and the volume of text is also helpful. In the state of Idaho, for example, there is the ‘Golden Scissors Award’ for this purpose.

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