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    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process
    Ebook176 pages2 hours

    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process

    By Bilika H. Simamba

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    About this ebook

    This book is an insiders account of the way legislative proposals in the Cayman Islands are conceived and processed, as well as the operational context in which the resultant laws are drafted. It is based on the authors well-received earlier publication The Legislative Process: A Handbook for Public Officials (2009). That book was featured significantly in The Parliamentarian: Journal of Commonwealth Parliaments, 2010, Issue 1 XCI. In a review contained in The Loophole: Journal of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel (August, 2010), the reviewer wrote, In these times of recession I commend this book to anyone in Government wishing to improve processes to enable the production of legislation with improved efficiency and cost effectiveness. And in the Statute Law Review (April, 2010), 31(2), with reference to its suggestions for improved efficiency, it was said that . . . there is little that can be described as other than good advice here.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateOct 15, 2012
    ISBN9781477263730
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process
    Author

    Bilika H. Simamba

    Bilika H. Simamba was trained as a legislative drafter in Britain and Canada. Since then he has drafted legislation full-time for over two decades in four jurisdictions in the British Commonwealth and has also undertaken short-term consultancies. His articles on legislative drafting and in selected areas of substantive law have appeared in leading journals in the United Kingdom, Germany, South Africa, Zambia and elsewhere. He has worked as a long-term consultant for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, fielded to the Caribbean, and on two World Bank technical assistance projects in Africa. Mr. Simamba has also taught legal drafting at the International Development Law Institute in Rome, Italy.

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      Book preview

      How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals - Bilika H. Simamba

      AuthorHouse™

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.authorhouse.com

      Phone: 1-800-839-8640

      © 2012 Bilika H. Simamba. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse 10/30/12

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-6375-4 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-6374-7 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4772-6373-0(e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916123

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      CONTENTS

      Cases Cited

      Legislation Cited

      Why write the book now?

      To whom the book is addressed

      Acknowledgements

      Chapter 1 General Introduction

      1.1 The meaning of law and related terms

      1.2 The basics

      1.2.1 The staffing and functions of the Legislative Drafting Department

      1.2.2 The fair success of efforts to train and retain drafters

      1.3 The purpose and structure of this book

      Chapter 2 Practices and Procedures

      2.1 Introduction

      2.2 How ministerial responsibilities are assigned

      2.3 The dynamics of proposing and drafting a law

      2.3.1 General

      2.3.2 External consultants

      2.3.3 Other aspects of the dynamics

      2.3.3.1 A plea for understanding

      2.3.3.2 Meetings and working groups

      2.3.3.3 Anticipating questions that may be raised in the Legislative Assembly

      2.3.3.4 Quality assurance

      2.4 How to find the current state of the law

      2.4.1 Annual volumes of the laws

      2.4.2 How revised editions of the laws are prepared

      2.4.3 Tracing new laws and amendments since the last revision

      2.5 Initiation of a proposed Law up to introduction in the Legislative Assembly

      2.6 Procedure in the Legislative Assembly

      2.7 Procedure after passing of a Law

      2.8 Certification and publication of laws

      2.9 The transition from a Bill to a Law

      2.10 Financial provisions

      2.11 How the Legislative Assembly is called and dismissed

      2.12 How the Legislative Assembly, its sessions and sittings are numbered

      2.13 Procedures for regulations

      Chapter 3 The Law Reform Commission

      3.1 Introduction

      3.2 What the Law Reform Commission does

      Chapter 4 Entry into Force and Application of Laws

      4.1 Introduction

      4.2 Entry into force of laws

      4.2.1 Entry into force of Laws passed by the Legislative Assembly

      4.2.2 Entry into force of regulations

      4.2.3 Exercise of powers before commencement of legislation

      4.2.4 Gazettal of laws

      4.3 Application of laws

      4.3.1 General

      4.3.2 Use of the Interpretation Law in applying laws

      4.4 Savings and transitional provisions

      4.5 Retrospective laws

      4.6 Repeal, annulment and non-revival of laws

      Chapter 5 Layout and Structure of Laws

      5.1 Introduction

      5.2 External anatomy of laws

      5.2.1 Preamble

      5.2.2 Memorandum of Objects and Reasons

      5.2.3 Enacting clause

      5.2.4 Long title and short title

      5.2.5 Headings and other labels

      5.2.5.1 Main headings, subheadings and similar matters

      5.2.5.2 Schedules

      5.2.5.3 Marginal notes

      5.2.5.4 Forms

      5.2.5.5 Columns and rows

      5.3 Numbering and indexing of laws

      5.4 Numbering and layout of provisions in a law

      APPENDICES

      Appendix 1: Format of Cabinet Papers and Cabinet Notes

      Appendix 1, Part 1A: Cabinet Paper

      Appendix 1, Part 1B: Guidance Notes for Cabinet Papers

      Appendix 2: Preparing Instructions for Legislative Proposals

      Appendix 3: Extract from the Law Revision Law (Law 19 of 1975) (1999 Revision)

      Appendix 4: Notice of Committee Stage Amendments

      Appendix 5: Glossary of Terms

      Further Reading

      Index

      DEDICATION

      For

      Kay

      CASES CITED

      LEGISLATION CITED

      WHY WRITE THE BOOK NOW?

      A government is run within a legal framework. For that reason, it is crucial that legislation that goes to the Legislative Assembly is conceived, processed and passed at the required pace. For this to be achieved, all institutions involved in the legislative process must play their role effectively. Outside of the Legislative Assembly and Cabinet, the Legislative Drafting Department is probably foremost among these institutions. It drafts legislation in accordance with policy instructions received from client institutions and then works with client institutions and policy makers to take legislation to the House. Therefore, it is important that those client institutions interface with the Legislative Drafting Department in a manner that is conducive to the production of legislation that is legally and administratively effective.

      Furthermore, in June 2009, the Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009, Statutory Instrument No. 1379 of that year, was promulgated and entered into force on 9 November, 2009. Whereas the Islands have always strived to pass legislation that meets internationally accepted standards of law and justice, the Constitution, for the first time, also contains a Bill of Rights, Freedoms and Responsibilities. As per section 4(2) of the Order, the Bill of Rights, as it is more commonly known, will enter into force three years after commencement of the Constitution. Thus, after that date, there will be need for all legislation to comply with that Part of the Constitution. Indeed, the process of making new or amending legislation to implement the provisions of the Constitution is an on-going one and will no doubt lead to an increased workload for all institutions involved.

      It seems therefore particularly opportune at this time to write a book aimed at helping public officials in the Cayman Islands play their role in the legislative process even more effectively. Accordingly, I hope that this book will be useful to all persons involved in the legislative process and members of the public who are interested in understanding what it takes to formulate legislative proposals, draft the necessary legislation and eventually bring that legislation into force.

      TO WHOM THE BOOK IS ADDRESSED

      The giving of instructions to drafters is a skill. It requires the instructing official to be familiar with key aspects of the legislative process. He needs to be conversant with the legislative practices and procedures within the executive arm of Government and, to some degree, the Legislative Assembly. He must be familiar with issues that arise frequently while giving instructions in areas such as the entry into force and application of legislation. Further, he needs to be well acquainted with certain words and concepts that he will often encounter in his dealings with the drafter and how they are relevant to his proposals and their processing.

      With that in mind, the officials whom I hope to benefit from this book include:

      (a) public officials – such as Chief Officers, Deputy Chief Officers, heads of department and other senior officials – who try to flesh out policies adopted by the Government, some of which the officials themselves may have initiated;

      (b) senior officials in quasi-government organizations, especially statutory corporations, who may request amendments to, or review of, their governing statutes;

      (c) law officers in Government, who advise on the application of legislation and may participate in making legislative proposals;

      (d) Cabinet Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly, who scrutinize legislation;

      (e) officials outside Government, such as those in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), who make legislative proposals;

      (f) journalists who have to report to the general public, clearly and concisely, on matters directly or indirectly related to proposed legislation;

      (g) officials in international organizations who work with the Government of the Cayman Islands to help it enact legislation arising out of international obligations;

      (h) lawyers outside Government who often have opportunities to undertake consultancies drafting laws but lack the necessary knowledge of Government legislative processes;

      (i) lawyers learning how to draft laws on the job;

      (j) law students at the Cayman Islands Law School who wish to have nutshell exposure to how the legislative process works;

      (k) students pursuing an Associate of Arts (AA) in Public Administration at the University College of the Cayman Islands; and

      (l) Caymanians and other persons resident in the Cayman Islands who wish to understand how laws affecting them are made.

      While the contents of the book have been simplified to facilitate practical use by a wide spectrum of users, enough detail has been maintained for the benefit of students and others who may wish to pursue the issues further. More extensive discussion of topics covered, as well as practices in other Commonwealth jurisdictions, can be found in my original work, The Legislative Process: A Handbook for Public Officials (Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2009), from which much of the content of this book is derived.

      This book has two intertwined components. First, it describes the legislative process in the Cayman Islands from the time legislative proposals are conceived to when they are brought into force. Second, it contains information that an instructing officer in any Commonwealth jurisdiction needs in order to effectively play his role. Occasionally, in order to give greater perspective to some of what is said, I have referred to practices in other jurisdictions, but I have kept this to a minimum.

      BHS

      George Town

      Grand Cayman

      Cayman Islands

      British West Indies

      6 August, 2012

      bsimamba@yahoo.co.uk

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      I would like to thank the Honourable Mary J. Lawrence, MBE, JP, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and Zena Merren-Chin, Clerk of the Legislative Assembly, for providing some useful comments on the manuscript especially in relation to the work of the Assembly. I am also grateful to the Attorney General, the Honourable Samuel Bulgin, QC, JP, for his support.

      Karen Stephen-Dalton, formerly Legislative Counsel (Financial Services) in the Legislative Drafting Department of the Cayman Islands Government and now Legal Adviser,

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