Principles of Legislative and Regulatory Drafting provides a succinct guide to an area of law and practice which has previously been poorly served by English textbooks. It explains how drafters can convert legislative and regulatory policy into a form which has the desired effect in the most direct and accessible way. On the basis that those who seek to communicate must be conscious of how their words will be read, it includes a chapter on interpretation. Other chapters include the nature of drafting instructions (including ethical considerations), the general principles of drafting, the protection of human rights, the creation of statutory corporations and schemes of licensing, subordinate legislation, and the creation of criminal offences. The principles and skills of drafting are very largely common to both the legislative and regulatory fields, but the book draws attention to areas in which significant differences arise. Extracts from the Interpretation Act 1978 and the European Convention on Human Rights are included as Appendices. The book provides an invaluable introduction for those engaged in legislative and regulatory drafting, while also being useful to anyone who is interested in the creation and interpretation of legislative and regulatory texts.

Author Biography

Ian McLeod is a solicitor, a Visiting Professor of Law at Teesside University, a Senior Associate Research Fellow in the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies in the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, London University, a member of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel and a member of the Council of the Statute Law Society.