Legislative Drafting

- PART I: Foundation -

What is Legislative Drafting

Legislation is the making of laws - the process of writing and passing laws. Legislative drafting is the process through which the instruction of the sponsor is translated into the form of a Bill.

It involves clearly understanding the instruction and the intention of the sponsor, and ensuring that the intention is put into the format of a Bill.

Legislative Drafting vs Legislative Process

Legislative Drafting	Legislative Process
Translating sponsor’s instructions into a Bill	The procedure for the transformation of a Bill into law in a Legislative House

5 Qualities of a Good Draftsman

1. Good command of English;
2. Sound knowledge of the principles of law;
3. Understanding of societal peculiarities;
4. Demonstrated proficiency in modern legal writing skills;
5. Capacity for painstaking scrutiny of templates and adaptation of precedents.

- PART II: 5 Stages of Legislative Drafting -

1. Taking & Understanding Instructions

• Get sufficient background information;
• Understand the principal object of the law;
• The means of achieving the law;
• Possible problems that may be encountered.

2. Analysing the Instruction - 7 Considerations

1. Any existing law;
2. Potential danger areas;
3. Practicability - lex non cogit ad impossibilia (the law does not compel the impossible);
4. Categories of person to be affected;
5. Penalty for breach;
6. Any conflict with the Constitution;
7. Ascertaining the enacting authority.

3. Designing the Bill

The outline or structure of the Bill - whether divided into Chapters, Parts, Sections, Subsections, Paragraphs, Sub-paragraphs, and Sub-sub-paragraphs.