Legislation: Understanding the Legislative Process

Introduction

This GLOMACS Legislation training course provides an understanding of contemporary international best practice in relation to the process of legislation, from policy preparation through to enactment and beyond.  Every aspect of the legislative process will be considered from a practical perspective, having regard to the political, constitutional, and legal context of those attending the course.  The training course will consider the purpose of different parts of the legislative process and how the purpose is best achieved in practice.  The Legislation training course will also consider recent developments in legislative practice and consider how they may be adapted to enhance practice in participants’ local context.

This Legislation training course follows as its curriculum the relevant sections of Craies on Legislation, A Practitioners’ Guide to the Nature, Process, Effect and Interpretation of Legislation (12th Edition, Thomson Reuters, 2020) and is delivered by the author of the last 5 editions of Craies, Daniel Greenberg, Counsel for Domestic Legislation, House of Commons (UK) and General Editor of Thomson Reuters Westlaw UK Annotated Statutes.

This GLOMACS Legislation training course will highlight:

• Accessibility, publication, and management of legislative documents
• Legislative scrutiny principles and practice
• Subordinate legislation and the growth of quasi-legislation
• Consultation, pre-legislative review, and post-legislative review
• Principles of legislative drafting

Objectives

At the end of this training course, you will learn to:  

• Develop appropriate documentation strategy for all stages of legislative process
• Understand how to make legislative scrutiny effective
• Explain principles of good delegation of legislative power
• Develop effective consultation and review techniques and mechanisms
• Understand the core principles of good legislative drafting

Training Methodology

This Legislation training course will be thoroughly inter-active to ensure maximum relevance to participants’ local, political, constitutional, and legal context.  Case-studies will be used throughout, and practical exercises will be carried out in-session with the results being shared as part of the post-course material distribution.  The training course will consider real-time legislative databases and related resources from UK Parliament and Government, and other selected international resources.

Organisational Impact

Legislatures participating in this training course will know that they are maximising their effectiveness in the light of international best practice and in their local context, in relation to:

• legislative document management
• legislative scrutiny
• subordinate legislation and quasi-legislation
• consultation and legislative review
• legislative drafting

Personal Impact

Participants will broaden and deepen their understanding of the principles underpinning good legislative practice and will be able to:

• Participate effectively in legislative document management
• Participate effectively in legislative scrutiny
• Determine good practice in subordinate legislation and quasi-legislation
• Operate effective consultation and legislative review projects
• Participate in legislative drafting projects