Law Making

The importance of well written laws can not be overstated. Laws play a crucial role cultivating and maintaining a positive and supportive climate for the rule of law. One of the main goals of legal and judicial reform is to support the processes by which laws and regulations are initiated, prepared, discussed, enacted, and publicized. Law reform seeks to ensure that laws are drafted by experts, taking into account best practice principles and international standards, and in consultation with interested stakeholders. Transplanted laws from abroad may be appealing, but not sustainable unless grounded in the local context. Fostering public understanding and ownership of proposed laws ensures that they are suitable for the economic, social, and legal environment and facilitates understanding by the public at large. In some countries, law making authority is handled by several ministries or a central authority such as a Ministry of Justice or Legal Draftsperson. In other countries ad hoc expert groups prepare draft laws to assist central authorities prepare legislation and appropriate law revisions. This section deals with six main topics of law making.

  Code Reform and Law Review

  Legislatures/Law Making Bodies

  Law Commissions

  Drafting Techniques

  Legal Transplants and Legal Culture

  Pre-Enactment Analyses