NEED TO INSTITUTE TRAINING IN LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING
May 27, 2015
NEED TO INSTITUTE TRAINING IN LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING
Presented by Maj Gen Nilendra Kumar
on 19 October 2012 at Korea Legislation Research Institute, Seoul, South Korea
Laws should be simple, easy to understand and facilitate their compliance.
Laws are meant for the community and not for lawyers alone.
Most of the laws affect and
have implication over a large
number of people.
A common man is always reminded that the ignorance
of law is no excuse!
But what is being done to create awareness of laws?
Presently most of the legislative produce is technical and beyond normal populace.
This results in non compliance, confusion, friction and litigation.
Law making falls in the domain of
legislature.
CHALLENGES
1.Law making is carried out by politicians and civil servants often with no training or expertise in this process.
2.Lawyers have a vested interest in retention of old system.
3 Law making is a technical and complex process.
Read a need to simplify laws into
An intent to comply with ICCAPR
regime.
EXPECTATIONS FROM THE LAWS
1.Fight hunger and employment
2.Increase world trade
Only a simple unambiguous legislation can equip a person with his civil, political and economic rights. Knowledge of law is a essential to
the enforcement of one’s rights to
life, privacy, employment and development.
PROBLEM COMPOUNDED BY
1.Ego of politicians2.At transnational level, different
languages add to complexity. Often the translations appear to be literal rather than in letter and spirit.
Words often change their meaning
and purpose over the years.
EXAMPLE OF CENTURY OLD LAWS IN INDIA
1.Indian Penal Code, 18602.Societies Registration Act,
18603.Indian Evidence Act, 18724.Indian Contract Act, 1872
5.Code of Civil Procedures, 1908.
These all are drafted in complex and technical text. These use words which in many cases have lost their relevance.
What to do?
Suggested way out
Impart training in legislative drafting.
Impart training in use of simple
and easy text.
Bring in clarity
Lobby for inclusion of legislative
drafting as a subject at post graduate law programs.
1. Carry out a review of old and
partially obsolete laws.2. Institute training in legislative
drafting.
Train and prepare specialists in
drafting of laws.
Prepare a training programs that
can be offered as obligatory continuing education.
Organise imaginative and innovative exercises to train law
students in simple law making
competitions.
Introduce competitions in law
reforms also with regard to international instruments and
covenants.
Also adopt online and distance
education options.
1. Create a body of experts in law
making.2 Lobby for use of experts who can
bid for contracts in legislative
drafting projects.3. Organise regular conferences at
sub regional, regional and international levels.
Prepare model legislative drafts.
These should be used as templates like conveyances.
MAKE A START WITH
1.Aviation2.Shipping3.Peace keeping operations4.International trade
5. Foreign currency remittances
6. Diplomatic relations7. Sports and games
Prepare and circulate Do’s and Don’ts
The object is not to have uniformity in legislation but to
universalize an expert approach
towards legislative drafting competence.
Also stimulate round tables and
discussions on policy formulations.
Develop the speciality in statutory architecture.
FURTHER STEPS
1. Set up an international association or society.
2. Start a journal3. Encourage establishment of national bodies.
MEMBERSHIP MAY EXTEND TO
1.Lawyers2.Law academics3.Parliamentarians4.Civil servants5.Civil society activists6.Diplomats
ADVANTAGES
1.Reduce litigation2.Achieve greater compliance of
laws3.Encourage savings in state
resources4.Reduce conflicts, disillusionment,
tension and uncertainty.
Laws having common purpose in
the region can be enacted by international co-operation.
A pool of international experts may
be formed to seek expert guidance.
Let India and South Korea make a beginning in the form of bilateral efforts.
It may be true that the law cannot
make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.
Martin Luther King, Jr.