Postgraduate diploma up for grabs with legislative drafting course

A course which trains lawyers in the principles and practices of legislative drafting now offers a postgraduate diploma for successful participants.

The new qualification reflects the variety of topics covered over the intensive 12-week training programme, including legislative syntax, drafting constraints, the legislative process, and drafting preliminary and final provisions as well as subsidiary legislation.

To date, four such courses have been held for lawyers in Africa. The most recent of these - organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of Ghana - ran from 27 July to 16 October 2009 and was attended by 25 lawyers from 14 Commonwealth countries.

Reic Mensah from Ghana was one of the participants. “Participating in the Commonwealth drafting course has completely changed my approach and work ethic in the area of legislative drafting,” she said. “As a lawyer in the Legal Division of the Internal Revenue service with responsibility for drafting tax legislation, the experience gained in this course has been invaluable.”

The training is delivered by both legal drafters and experts from across the Commonwealth and combines formal teaching with practical exercises.

Claudette Awa Babilia, from the Ministry of Justice in Cameroon, also attended the most recent course: “I return home committed to use the knowledge acquired to contribute to the better drafting of laws and international public agreements.”

The idea for these courses originated back in 2002 when Commonwealth law ministers requested the Commonwealth Secretariat to explore short-term training for legislative drafters.

The Secretariat went on to commission the development of a curriculum for an intensive short-term course, which was piloted in November 2003 in Barbados.

Jacqueline Wilson, Director of Governance and Institutional Development at the Secretariat, stressed the “critical role” drafters play in societies.

“As drafters you assist in shaping the way that rules and legislations are crafted and interpreted for use by all concerned,” she said. “It is your ability to carry out full and impartial research and investigation that allows the creation of legislation that is not subject to misrepresentation.”

Speaking at the closing ceremony in Accra, she also told participants that they should be champions of their profession and encourage young people to become legislative drafters in order to counter the shortage in many countries.

Olutoyin Job, the Secretariat’s Governance Adviser for West Africa, thanked the Ghana Law School, the Chief Justice, and the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice in Ghana for their continued support of this programme.

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