Dealing with the stock of legislation:
Renovation is as important as
innovation:
MENA Workshop on
Amman, Jordan, 29/30 May 2008
Presentation by
Edward Donelan, M.A., Dip. Eur.Law, Dip. Arb., Barrister–at–Law of the Kings Inns, Dublin
and the Middle Temple, London, Senior Adviser (Principal Administrator, SIGMA/ OECD)
Attention needs to be paid to ‘stock’ as
well as to the ‘flow’ of legislation
 Times change and we change with them but the rate of
change in societies and economies is not always reflected
in the rate of change of the rules that govern us.
 The problem is, therefore, how to keep the stock of
legislation up to date and relevant to the needs of the day.
 The problem is not a new one.
 In about 1750 BC, the Babylonian King Hammurabi issued a
legal code in 282 sections, which set out in written form
many of the customary laws which had developed up to
then, with significant reforming amendments.
5 main trends may be observed in managing the
stock of legislation
1. Codification: ‘Hamurabi type’ reforms
2. Specific Law Reform
3. Reforms of the legislative process
4. Accessibility reforms
5. ‘Sharp shocks’
Codification – Hamurabi type reforms
 Besides religious laws such as the Torah
 Roman Codifications
 China: the first permanent system of codified laws 624
 Hindu Law codified by Manu
 The Koran is occasionally used in the civil code as part of Islamic law
Codification most closely associated with
continental Europe.
 An early example of codification is to be found in the
statutes of Lithuania in the 16th century
 The codification movement developed out of the
philosophy of the Enlightenment
 Napoleonic Codes 1804 onwards
 Less common in the common law, exceptions
 Sale of Goods Act 1894
 codification of the Criminal Law of India
Specific reforms of areas of law.
 Pre 20th century emphasis in Western laws was on trade promotion
and protection
 The main object of law was the maintenance of power and control
and punishments were severe
 In the mid 1960’s equality laws
 In the 1990s regulatory reform laws
 Now the trend will probably revert to more laws and more controls.
 Systematic reforms of areas of law also help address the stock of
legislation problem
Reforms of Process
 Language of law became simpler; ‘plain
language’ became part of the vocabulary of
law drafters
 Process of policy formulation and law drafting
now includes:





Structured agenda setting
Impact Assessment
Consultation
Administrative Simplification
Improved accessibility of legislation and
administrative responsibilities
Programmes of:
 Statute Law Revision (Canada)
 Consolidation (UK)
 Reprints (Australia)
 Restatement (Ireland)
 Commercial Publishers (Spain, Romania)
 Revision of forms used by public (France)
 Revision of licensing (Albania)
 Restructuring of company formations
(Bulgaria)
EU Accessibility Reforms
 Consolidation
 Codification
 Recasting
‘Sharp shocks’




Sweden
Turkey
Fall of communism (Hungarian approach)
Repeal and re-enact all legislation between
1235 and 1922 (Ireland)
 Cut administrative burdens by 25% EU,
Austrian, Denmark, N.L., Ireland
 Guillotine approach (Croatia, Moldova)
Critical success factors
 Responsible political leadership
 Modernisation policy
 Efficient and effective management of
economies and societies need clear legal
directions with the minimum unnecessary
economic and social costs
 A comprehensive list of all legislation (if you
don’t have one – draw one up, if necessary
with donor assistance.
Institutional arrangements, policies and tools for an
effective programme to managing the legislative
stock:
There is a need:
 To decide whether to address issue on a subject by subject basis
 To address issue on a ministry by ministry and authority by
authority basis
 To establish a central body with responsibility for stock
management, [Statute Law Revisors Office (USA), Law Reform
Commission (UK), Ministry for Justice (Hungary, Latvia)
 To provide adequate funding (donor assisted if necessary but own
funds better)
 To have an adequate personnel mix of experience with youthful
enthusiasm
 To make available good IT tools
 To set realistic goals
Reading List
Cases and materials on Legislation, Statutes and the creation of Public Policy, Eskridge, W. and Frickey,
P. West, 1988
The Statute Book - A Guide to Irish Legislation, Hunt, B. First Law, Dublin, 2008
Consultation Paper: Statute Law, Restatment Law Reform Commission (Ireland)
Recent developments in statute law revision in Ireland. Donelan E. Statute Law Review, Volume 22,
Number 1, February 2001 , pp. 1-19(19) ...
Seanad Éireann - Volume 179 - 13 April, 2005 - Statute Law ...
Reports of Irish Senate on debates on Statute Law Revision Bill
historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0179/S.0179.200504130007.html - 88k
LAW COMMISSION STATUTE LAW REVISION UK see www.lawcom.gov.uk/docs/London
Statute Law Revision in the Commonwealth H. H. Marshall, International and Comparative Law
Quarterly (1964), 13:1407-1432 Cambridge University Press
Wisconsin Statutes Home Page - Legislative Reference Bureau
Go to a specific Statute in the Infobase Search Tips Type Statute No [e.g., ch. ... It does not apply,
interpret, or enforce any statutes, rules, or other law.
www.legis.state.wi.us/RSB/STATS.HTML Office of the Revisor of Statutes Room 108, State House ...
janus.state.me.us/LEGIS/STATUTES