“Clear writing from your government is a civil right”.

Former Vice President Al Gore 1998

LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING L3890

Written Assignment No. 2

Due: Wednesday, April 4, 2018.

This assignment seeks to assess ability to:

i. critique legislative texts based on what has been discussed in class to date; and
ii. draft basic statutory provisions according to rules of legislative drafting.

Carefully read Questions 1-5 and briefly in a sentence comment on the flaws in the
following legislative texts. Redraft each one for greater clarity, precision and unambiguity.

Question1:

No action shall be brought against any person for anything that he has done in good faith during
his exercise of any power or any duty conferred by any notice of evacuation pursuant to this Act
and a person shall comply with a notice of evacuation issued pursuant to this section. Anyone
who fails to comply commits an offence and upon conviction is liable to imprisonment for a
term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding three thousand dollars or to both.

Question 2

Whereas, at any time a person can make a complaint under this Act, in the event that the
Chief Labour Officer objects to the filing of a complaint, the Chief Labour Officer, in his
discretion, may file a responsive pleading subsequent to the filing.

Question 3

The Director of National Health Insurance is empowered to appoint such personnel that may be
reasonably required to carry out the functions prescribed for his office under the Act.

Question 4

If he so desires, the Registrar can issue letters of admonition. When a letter of admonition is sent
by the Registrar, by certified mail, to a registrant, such recipient shall be advised that he has the
right to request in writing, within fourteen (14) days after the receipt of the letter, that formal
disciplinary proceedings be initiated to adjudicate the propriety of the conduct upon which the
letter of admonition is based.
Question 5

1. Any person who knowingly and wilfully makes any false statement in or supplies any
false information for or for purposes of deception applies for, alters, mutilates, uses,
attempts to use, applies for amendments thereto, or furnishes to another for deceptive use
any vital statistics certificate, and any person who knowingly and wilfully and for
purposes of deception uses or attempts to use or furnishes for use by another any vital
statistics certificate knowing that such certificate contains false information or relates to a
person other than the person with respect to whom it purports to relate, and any person
who manufactures, advertises for sale, sells, or alters any vital statistics certificate
knowing or having reason to know that such document establishes or may be used to
establish a false status, occupation, membership, license, privilege, or identity for himself
or any other person, and any person who uses any such document to commit a crime is
guilty of a misdemeanour and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not
more than one thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than
one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Question 6

Read the following instructions and prepare a suitable first draft.

The Ministry of Education had issued a policy of no cell phones to be used by primary school
students at any time during school hours. There is provision for the Minister to make regulations
under the Education Act. There was significant resistance from various quarters, which included
the Parent Teacher’s Association (PTA) which pointed to the invaluable usefulness that cell
phones can have when put to use in pedagogy and in times of emergency. The Ministry of
Education has accepted this reasoning and is now ready to have regulations drafted. How would
you, as the Chief Parliamentary Counsel, in no more than three sections, draft basic regulations
to give legal effect to the new policy of the sponsoring ministry?

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