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The Commonwealth course has been set up in response to requests from Commonwealth Law Ministers to find a sustainable solution to address the perennial shortage of legislative drafters and drafting skill in Africa.

African lawyers to be trained in legal drafting

3 July 2008

Following a Law Ministers Meeting in 2002 the Commonwealth Secretariat set up programmes to enhance the ability of legislative drafters in member countries

A regional training programme has been designed for lawyers from Africa serving as legislative drafters and those who may work in this area of law in the near future.

The course, which runs from 12 July to 10 October 2008, will take place in Accra at the Ghana School of Law.

Funded by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation - the principal means for providing technical assistance to Commonwealth countries – this course is based on a curriculum developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in consultation with member countries.

“The course aims to provide the essential skills required by legislative drafters by developing competence in the basic essentials of legislative drafting to improve their performance, efficiency and effectiveness,” said Oluwatoyin Job, the Secretariat’s Governance Adviser for West Africa.

Writing new laws

Many countries in the Commonwealth do not have a sufficient number of lawyers who can effectively draft legislation. This is because much of the work involved in drafting laws requires highly skilled and specialised lawyers.

“In addition, the programme will provide an opportunity for a wealth of experiences to be shared among the participants from Commonwealth African countries during the practical sessions in the programme.”

The course has been set up in response to requests from Commonwealth law ministers to find a sustainable solution to address the perennial shortage of legislative drafters and drafting skill in Africa.

A team of experienced legal drafters and Commonwealth legal experts will deliver the programme, which will also feature guest lectures on topics associated with legislative drafting.

“It is our hope that this course will contribute to the creation of a pool of legal drafters in the continent that will be knowledgeable enough to produce clear legislation that is easy to interpret,” added Ms Job.

The course curriculum will cover: introductory issues, the drafting process, drafting constraints, the legislative process, legislative syntax, legislative style, legislative structure and arrangement, drafting preliminary and final provisions, substantive provisions, drafting subsidiary legislation and other miscellaneous subjects.

Participants will be awarded certificates on completion of a written exam.

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