The quality of legislation within the Commonwealth is an essential element of democracy and the rule of law. Although a neglected territory until recently, the legislative drafting debate is at the forefront of academic and professional fora at a Commonwealth and at a national level. This book brings to light the academic foundations of legislative quality and the many recent innovations deriving from Commonwealth jurisdictions. This book was based on a special issue of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin.

The Commonwealth Legislative Drafting Manual guides the practitioner step by step through the various things he or she needs to know. It also contains a series of appendices relating to the procedure for the preparation of legislation, the contents of drafting instructions, and some hints to the beginner on the best approaches to the task.

"...the uber-manual of all legislative drafting manuals" Statute Law Review, 2023, 44 If you're involved in drafting or amending legislation in the Commonwealth, the EU or beyond, you need a guide that will help you with both the traditional and modern techniques of drafting good quality statutory law. Thornton's Legislative Drafting is recognised as the leading professional title in this area, used and referred to by legal officers and drafters internationally. Completely refreshed and updated, the new sixth edition includes full coverage of contemporary drafting developments and advances. Fully updated and alongside the detailed, learned and professional guidance and examples of best, and bad, practice, the new 6th edition includes new chapters on: - Legislation as a Tool for Regulation - Transposition of EU Legislation - Pre- and post-legislative scrutiny: the lifecycle of legislation Thornton's Legislative Drafting helps the reader to: - Identify the aim of legislation as one of the regulatory tools - Align their concept of legislative quality with that of effectiveness of legislation - Use effectiveness as the criterion for resolving drafting dilemmas - Apply the effectiveness doctrine to all aspects of legislative drafting - Earn exposure to examples of best and bad practice drawn from a plethora of jurisdictions - Earn awareness of best practice in aspects of legislative drafting worldwide - Understand the “why” behind legislative conventions, thus becoming equipped with the tools for their application in practice.

This book outlines the procedures used in many Commonwealth countries in key areas of the legislative process, especially on the executive side of government. It also covers the procedures in the legislature and the entry into force of different types of legislation. The jurisdictions discussed include the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as others in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. The intention is to assist legislative counsel, politicians and students gain a wider perspective of processes in which drafters, civil servants and politicians participate. In this process, the book also lays bare certain procedures that should now be considered international best practice in the Commonwealth. The book is a follow-up to the authors well-received earlier publication The Legislative Process: A Handbook for Public Officials (2009). However, this book considerably expands on the earlier one in terms of the countries and areas covered, as well as the whole approach to the subject.

The quality of legislation within the Commonwealth is an essential element of democracy and the rule of law. Although a neglected territory until recently, the legislative drafting debate is at the forefront of academic and professional fora at a Commonwealth and at a national level. This book brings to light the academic foundations of legislative quality and the many recent innovations deriving from Commonwealth jurisdictions. This book was based on a special issue of the Commonwealth Law Bulletin.

In 1976, recognising that there was a shortage of trained legislative drafters in the Commonwealth, the Commonwealth Secretariat first published a legislative drafting manual aimed at informing those practitioners with little or no previous experience in the skill, and assisting those with some experience who had never considered why drafting needed to be undertaken in a particular way. That aim remains, but more than 40 years later there have been important changes in the way legislation is drafted. These mainly concern the perceived need to make it more accessible to those to be affected by it, in particular by the use of plain language and sentence structures that relate more closely to those used in formal non-legislative documents. In the light of these and other changes, the Commonwealth Legislative Drafting Manual has been completely rewritten, and it now guides the practitioner step by step through the various things he or she needs to know. It also contains a series of appendices relating to the procedure for the preparation of legislation, the contents of drafting instructions, and some hints to the beginner on the best approaches to the task.

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.