Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: British Virgin Islands Legislative Process
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: British Virgin Islands Legislative Process
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: British Virgin Islands Legislative Process
    Ebook172 pages2 hours

    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: British Virgin Islands Legislative Process

    By Bilika H. Simamba

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This book outlines the way in which legislative proposals in the British Virgin Islands are conceived and processed. It also contains best practice suggestions on interfacing with Parliamentary Counsel regardless of the jurisdiction in which one is working. Those suggestions are 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 dateNov 29, 2013
    ISBN9781491840351
    How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: British Virgin 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.

    Read more from Bilika H. Simamba

    Related to How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals

    Related ebooks

    Politics For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Wills And Probate A Complete Guide

      May 2, 2023

      Wills And Probate A Complete Guide
      6 min read

    • Article

      Justice For All?

      Sep 12, 2021

      Those becalmed in lockdown could do worse than swap their jigsaw puzzles for Parliament’s fiendish three-dimensional version, the reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Online hearings are under way into the draft of a new law, which will have

      4 min read

    • Article

      Justice For All?

      Sep 12, 2021

      Those becalmed in lockdown could do worse than swap their jigsaw puzzles for Parliament’s fiendish three-dimensional version, the reform of the Resource Management Act (RMA). Online hearings are under way into the draft of a new law, which will have

      4 min read

    • Article

      The Absentee Dissenters

      Jun 30, 2021

      The Absentee Dissenters
      9 min read

    • Article

      WESTERN CAPE GOVERNANCE Rocky Road Ahead As The DA Bids For More Powers

      Feb 3, 2024

      The Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill has created widespread speculation about the DA government’s real intention behind it. The ANC accused the DA of planning an apartheid “home- land” mainly for white people. Parties like the Gatvol Capetonians,

      3 min read

    • Article

      WESTERN CAPE GOVERNANCE Rocky Road Ahead As The DA Bids For More Powers

      Feb 3, 2024

      The Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill has created widespread speculation about the DA government’s real intention behind it. The ANC accused the DA of planning an apartheid “home- land” mainly for white people. Parties like the Gatvol Capetonians,

      3 min read

    • Article

      WESTERN CAPE GOVERNANCE Rocky Road Ahead As The DA Bids For More Powers

      Feb 3, 2024

      The Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill has created widespread speculation about the DA government’s real intention behind it. The ANC accused the DA of planning an apartheid “home- land” mainly for white people. Parties like the Gatvol Capetonians,

      3 min read

    • Article

      Maximum Value From Inquiries

      Jul 12, 2020

      Public inquiries, including commissions, can be a transparent and independent tool for investigating some of the tragic, complex, politically contested and controversial issues in society. In that sense, they are a major instrument for holding public

      4 min read

    • Article

      Congress Is Trying to Give the Trump Administration a Short Cut to Ignore Public Input and Science: It Shouldn’t

      Jul 6, 2017

      There is no question that elections matter. We follow the process and accept the results even if that results in many, many battles over the direction of the country. The election of Donald Trump and the 115th Congress seems to be a watershed moment

      3 min read

    • Article

      Update on the Firearms Control Amendment Bill

      Aug 2, 2021

      Strict gun control was implemented for the first time in South Africa 140 years ago. This led to what became known as the Gun War from 1880 to 1881. The conflict occurred in the then British territory of Basutoland (present-day Lesotho) in Southern A

      2 min read

    • Article

      On Cobwebs and Fine Silk: Nationhood for the 21st Century

      Mar 30, 2020

      For a moment, imagine this: The supreme law of a nation lies covered in cobwebs, its words of wisdom interlaced with absurdities, irrelevances, anachronisms and fantasy. Clever counsellors in fine silk, debate before judges, who in turn decide whethe

      10 min read

    • Article

      Jou Regte, Ons Fokus: Die Wet Op Beheer Van Vuurwapens – Konsepwysigingswet

      Jul 23, 2021

      In die kennisgewing wat op 21 Mei 2021 in die Staatskoerant gepubliseer is, gee die Minister van Polisie kennis van die voorneme om die Wet op Beheer van Vuurwapens (Wet 60 van 2000) te wysig. Op daardie stadium was die konsepwysigingswet egter nog n

      5 min read

    • Article

      Editorial: A Strange And Chaotic — And Meh — Year For California Lawmaking

      Sep 4, 2020

      Anyone watching the final days of the California Legislature's two-year session might have been surprised to see the level of dysfunction, vitriol and chaos on display as lawmakers scrambled to pass bills before the stroke of midnight Monday. The tes

      5 min read

    • Article

      Spotlight On The ANC’s Recent Policy Conference

      Aug 12, 2022

      The significance of the ANC’s policy conference in late July was that it provided a platform for the party to consider policies and suggest changes, amendments and alternatives (see page 13). These changes, however, are only of an advisory nature; po

      3 min read

    • Article

      Acting On Your Behalf

      Dec 17, 2018

      Getting relevant GE/GMO provisions into the Proposed Regional Plan for Northland has been an ongoing work stream for Soil & Health since we made a submission on the plan in November 2017. We have spent the last couple of months preparing for the hear

      2 min read

    • Article

      Jou Regte, Ons Fokus: Die Wet Op Beheer Van Vuurwapens – Konsepwysigingswet

      Aug 12, 2022

      In die kennisgewing wat op 21 Mei 2021 in die Staatskoerant gepubliseer is, gee die Minister van Polisie kennis van die voorneme om die Wet op Beheer van Vuurwapens (Wet 60 van 2000) te wysig. Op daardie stadium was die konsepwysigingswet egter nog n

      5 min read

    • Article

      Land Reform: Speak Up Now!

      Jan 13, 2020

      Two important pieces of draft legislation that will shape the way that land reform in South Africa will be implemented were published recently, and are currently open for public comment. Any interested and/or affected individual or entity has the opp

      2 min read

    • Article

      References

      Dec 30, 2019

      Mean(s) Testing – Why it pays to make our welfare system fair 1 https://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-wealthy-country-australians-are-the-richest-people-in-the-world-20181109-p50eyc.html2 https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-10/

      7 min read

    • Article

      The Meaning Of Custodianship In Environmental Law

      Jul 31, 2020

      Ian Cox is a commercial attorney practicing for his own account in Durban. His interest in environmental law was piqued when DEFF tried to list trout as an invasive species. Ian is a passionate fly-fisherman. He quickly realised that environmental la

      7 min read

    • Article

      L AW & THE FAMILY HISTORIAN

      Apr 8, 2022

      L AW & THE FAMILY HISTORIAN
      9 min read

    • Article

      Government Issue

      Aug 18, 2020

      Government Issue
      7 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals - Bilika H. Simamba

      © 2013 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 11/27/2013

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-4037-5 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-4036-8 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4918-4035-1 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2013921881

      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?

      Preface

      Acknowledgements

      Chapter 1  General Introduction

      Chapter 2  Practices and Procedures

      Chapter 3  The Law Reform Procedure

      Chapter 4  Entry into Force and Application of Laws

      Chapter 5  Layout and Structure of Laws

      Annex 1

      Annex 2

      Annex 3

      Annex 4

      Annex 5

      Annex 6

      Further Reading

      Dedication

      For

      Liayo M. Simamba

      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 is conceived, processed and passed at the required pace. For this to be achieved, all entities involved in the legislative process must play their role effectively. Outside of the House of Assembly and Cabinet, the Legislative Drafting Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers is foremost among these. It drafts legislation in accordance with policy instructions received from client institutions. Therefore, it is important that those client institutions interface with the Legislative Drafting Division in a manner that is conducive to the production of legislation that is legally and administratively effective.

      What is more, in June 2007, the Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, Statutory Instrument No. 1678 of that year, was enacted. The new Constitution, for the first time, contains a bill of rights. Whereas when I worked in the BVI as Parliamentary Counsel I was acutely aware that the Islands always strived to pass legislation to meet internationally accepted standards of law and justice, the bill of rights creates an even greater challenge. It has created an even greater need to enact new or amending legislation to implement the provisions of the Constitution. This will lead to an increased workload for all institutions involved, a phenomenon that I have experienced working as a drafter in the Cayman Islands which also introduced a new Constitution in 2009. It seems therefore particularly opportune at this time to write a book aimed at helping public officials in the BVI 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.

      Preface

      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 House of 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 encounter often 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 Permanent Secretaries, Deputy Secretaries, 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 legislators, 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 BVI 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 who wish to have nutshell exposure to how the legislative process works;

      (k)   students pursuing studies relating to the public service at the H Lavity Stoutt Community College; and

      (l)   British Virgin Islanders and other persons resident in the BVI 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.

      This is the third in the series of books which started with How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: Cayman Islands Legislative Process (Bloomington, Indiana: AuthorHouse, 2012). That was followed by How to Make Effective Legislative Proposals: The Jamaican Legislative Process (AuthorHouse, 2013). More extensive discussion of many of the 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 (AuthorHouse, 2009), from which much of the content of this book and others in the series is derived.

      This book has two intertwined components. First, it describes the legislative process in the BVI 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.

      References to BVI legislation are to the Laws of the Virgin Islands, 1991 Edition as that was the edition available to me at the time of writing. Also, under Legislation Cited I have generally excluded the pieces of legislation, even if relating to the BVI, not significant in terms of the substance of the text such as those that are merely examples used in explaining how to navigate the statutes.

      In some portions of the text the number of copies necessary for the processes mentioned may change due to an increase in the membership of the body for which they are prepared. It should also be remembered that since the enactment of the Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007, UK SI 1678, the Legislative Council is now known as the House of Assembly and the Executive Council is now the Cabinet, with corresponding changes to the Clerks associated with each. I have amended the relevant documents appropriately. Further, what used to be abbreviated as EC for Executive Council as a reference I have changed to CAB. Finally, the head of what used to be the drafting unit was the Parliamentary Counsel but after the reorganization is now known as Chief Parliament Counsel. Appropriate amendments have also been made in that regard.

      Acknowledgements

      My thanks go out to all my friends and former colleagues in the BVI, many of whom have contributed to this book more than they know.

      Chapter 1

      General Introduction

      1.1 The meaning of law and related terms

      The word law has more than one connotation. In this book, unless otherwise stated, it is used in reference to Acts and subsidiary legislation. These are laws made by a legislative authority. In that connection, the following definitions from section 2 of the Interpretation Act, Cap 136, must be noted:

      Act means any Act or Ordinance of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands passed on or before the commencement of this Act;

      enactment means an Act or a statutory instrument or any provision in an Act or statutory instrument;

      instrument includes a proclamation, order or warrant (other than an order made or a warrant issued by a court), notice, scheme, rule regulation or by-law;

      statutory document means any document, other than a statutory instrument or an order of a court, issued under an Act;

      statutory instrument means an instrument made under an Act.

      Acts are made by the House of Assembly while subsidiary legislation can be made by Ministers, the Cabinet, the Governor in Cabinet or more rarely the Governor acting in his discretion. The Governor can also issue proclamations.

      For purposes of

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1