ABSTRACT
The introduction of new legislative procedures arose from the criticism of the early legislative process that there was a so-called 'democratic deficit', in other words that those institutions that existed on the basis of appointment rather than election controlled the processes. Prior to the Treaty of Lisbon there were four types of legislative procedure that were possible within the European Union legal order. Those are the proposal procedure; the co-operation procedure; the co-decision procedure and the process of assent. The ordinary legislative procedure is enshrined in Article 289 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union which states it 'shall consist in the joint adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of a regulation, directive or decision on a proposal from the Commission'. The adoption of the special legislative procedure is stipulated by specific Treaty provisions and is used on an ad hoc basis.
