The Role of Drafting Legislation Bodies
in Legal Reform
Experience of the Institute of Law
(IoL) in Drafting Legislation
Mahmoud Alawni
Institute of Law – Birzeit University
April 2008
Presentation:
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Contributions of civil society organizations (CSOs)
to drafting legislation
Introducing IoL
IoL’s contributions to the theoretical framework of
legislative drafting
IoL’s practical experience in legislative drafting
(practical framework)
Mechanisms of drafting laws and secondary
legislation
IoL’s future horizons in legislative drafting
CSOs’ Contributions to Drafting
Legislation
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A member on the Palestinian Legislative Council
(PLC) may propose a draft law
Draft laws proposed by PLC members are more
than those proposed by the Government
CSOs have made considerable contributions to
developing draft laws
Development of legislation lacks a clear
methodology
Development of most draft laws is arbitrary; it
does not take into account Palestinian real needs
Introducing IoL
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Establishment
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Goals
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Departments and Units
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Achievements
IoL’s Contributions to the Theoretical
Framework of Legislative Drafting
2.
Legislative Drafting Manual
Secondary Legislation Drafting Manual
3.
Studies on the legislative process in Palestine:
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“Problems of Legislative Harmony in Palestine: A
Preliminary Survey”
“The Legislative Process Between Theory and Practice”
“Legal and Regulatory Framework of the Government’s
Administration of the Legislative Process: The
Palestinian Context”
IoL’s Practical Experience in Legislative
Drafting (Practical Framework)
1. IoL’s experience in drafting laws:
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Child Law
Draft Law on the Cultural Heritage
Draft Land Law
Draft Audio-Visual Law
Draft Company Law
Reviews of various draft laws
2. IoL’s experience in drafting secondary legislation:
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Regulations and bylaws of the Labour Law
Regulations and bylaws of the Law on Social Insurances
Regulations Concerning Licences of Medical Professions and Health
Facilities
Mechanisms of Drafting Laws and
Secondary Legislation
IoL’s Methodology in Drafting Legislation
(i) Phases and mechanisms of drafting laws:
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Examination of the legal framework
Examination of the practical framework - “research report”
Comparative experience (visits to Jordan), as well as foreign
experiences
Meeting minutes of the Legislative Policy Development Committee “Legislative Policy Memorandum”
Writing a first version of the draft law
Discussing the version – workshops involving affected groups and
experts
Writing the final version of the draft law
Lessons learnt from the experience
Mechanisms of Drafting Laws and
Secondary Legislation
(ii) Phases and mechanisms of drafting secondary
legislation:
 Legislative Policy Development Committee
 Legislative Policy Document
 Report on the Legal and Practical Framework “Research Report”
 Writing a draft of the piece of secondary legislation
 Experience, and discussion of the draft legisaltion
“workshops”
 Final draft legislation
 Lessons learnt from the experience
IoL’s Future Horizons in Legislative
Drafting
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Diploma Programme in Legislative Drafting
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The Government’s Legislative Policy
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Drafting laws and secondary legislation
Thank You