Full Description
Legislative drafting is an extremely onerous, exacting and highly-skilled task. What is clearly conceived in the mind may not be easily expressed with clarity and precision in words. It is a highly technical discipline, and one of the most vigorous forms of writing. Few lawyers have the special combination of skills, aptitudes and temperament necessary for a competent draftsperson.
This book provides, for the first time, detailed commentary on legislative drafting with a specific focus on the Commonwealth, covering: the ethics of legislative drafting, teaching, training and retention of drafters, the role of legislative drafting in good governance, keeping the statute book up-to-date, drafting by more than words: the use of graphics, labels and formulae in legislation; and the particular challenges of drafting for small states. It constitutes a key reference for legislative drafters, parliamentary counsel and professionals involved in this field in the Commonwealth and beyond.
This book was based on a special issue of Commonwealth Law Bulletin.
Contents
Foreword. Preface. Articles 1. The Ethics of Legislative Drafting VCRAC Crabbe 2. Training of Legislative Counsel: Learning to Draft without Nellie Sandra C. Markman 3. Teaching Legislative Drafting: Reflections on the Commonwealth Secretariat Short Course Robin Webster 4. The Role of Parliamentary Counsel in Legislative Drafting N.K. Nampoothiry 5. Prioritising Legislative Proposals in the Legislative Process Richard C. Nzerem 6. Keeping the Statute Book up to date: A Personal View Duncan Berry 7. Drafting by More than Words: The Use of Graphics, Labels and Formulae in Legislation St. John Bates 8. The Challenges of Legislative Drafting in Small Commonwealth Jurisdictions Ranjit Hewagama Fact Sheet 9. Building a Commons for the Common Law: The Commonwealth Legal Information Institute (CommonLII) Four Years On Graham Greenleaf, Andrew Mowbray and Philip Chung
