Strengthening legislative drafting offices in Africa is focus of Commonwealth meeting

Heads of Legislative Drafting Offices from Commonwealth African countries are discussing how the capacity of their offices can best be strengthened and developed during a meeting in Port Louis, Mauritius, on 24 and 25 November 2010.

The legislative drafters are examining the overall work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in assisting member countries in building the capacity of legislative offices. They are also assessing the relevance and effectiveness of the Secretariat’s Ghana legislative drafting training course and the extent to which it has contributed to the strengthening of the capacity of these offices.

Those present at the meeting are also considering the role and responsibility of governments in strengthening the capacity of legislative drafting and examining opportunities for further Commonwealth-supported exercises in Africa in the area of legislative drafting.

This meeting follows the recent Commonwealth Senior Law Officials Meeting, held in London, which called for increased networking and collaboration among countries in the legislative drafting field.

“The Secretariat was asked to do a feasibility study to explore the availability of extra budgetary resources and how these can be best utilised to address the specific needs of our member countries in the area of legislative drafting,” said Jarvis Matiya, Head of the Justice Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

“The Secretariat remains committed to continue supporting member countries in the area of legislative drafting which contributes to the strengthening of the rule of law.”

The meeting was opened by the Mauritius Attorney-General, Yatin Varma, and is sponsored by the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC).

In his opening remarks, Mr Varma expressed gratitude to the Secretariat and the Government of Ghana for their roles in boosting the capacity of legislative drafters in African Commonwealth countries.

“Since 2006 [they have] organised the three month Legislative Drafting Course for African Member States in Accra, Ghana. The course has now been running successfully for five consecutive years,” the Attorney-General said.

According to Mr Varma there is a need for more systematic teaching of modern drafting techniques. “We are all aware that as far as legal drafters are concerned, there is a perennial problem of shortage, recruitment and retention. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of training for legislative counsel is an important step in addressing the problem. Once one has an appreciation for the true scope of the knowledge and special skills that legislative drafting requires, it becomes possible to understand why so much emphasis should be placed on specialised training,” the Attorney General said.

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