This practical and career-enhancing course, presented by specialists in the field, provides people involved in the drafting of legislation with essential theoretical and practical knowledge and skills.
Legislative drafting is a field of law not dealt with extensively in an LLB, nor is it usually explored in postgraduate studies. There is, however, a need to transfer legislative drafting skills to an ever-growing body of senior, middle and even lower-level public officials engaged in the "business of legislation".
This course builds on our introductory short course on legislative drafting. It focuses more intensively on specific issues and problem-solving exercises. By completing the course, persons involved in legislative drafting enhance their knowledge and skills to draft legislation efficiently, accurately and in compliance with legal requirements.
"The programme is well-structured and intellectually challenging, providing students the opportunity to develop the skills required for legislative drafting." - Peer review
Join us for a four-month course, including two remote workshops, five assignments and a written examination, all of which are compulsory.
When and where?
This course runs from July to October 2023, with the two compulsory remote workshops being held on the following days:
- Workshop 1: 10 to 13 July and 17 to 19 July (seven days), 9:00-12:00 SAST
- Workshop 2: 2 to 6 October (five days), 9:00-12:00 SAST
Assignments must be submitted in the intervening period. The final written examination will be taken towards the end of November 2023.
The links for the remote workshops will be emailed to you a few days beforehand.
Course outline
The program consists of different modules which will be presented over the two separate remote workshops.
Module 1: Constitutional and legal framework, legislation as source of law, legislative procedures, from policy to law (influences on the origins and content of legislation)
Module 2: Drafting of a law, drafting principles, legislative sentences, language and grammar, style and techniques, structure of a law, substantial and other provisions
Module 3: Amending legislation, requirements, style and techniques
Module 4: Delegated legislation, legal requirements, drafting style and techniques
Who will benefit from this course?
The program is primarily aimed at persons in national, provincial and local government, as well as in parastatal bodies.
Presenters
Prof Rassie Malherbe is a retired professor of constitutional law from the University of Johannesburg. He has been teaching legislative drafting for 20 years, for the last three years at the University of Cape Town. During his academic career Prof Malherbe focused his research on constitutional law, education law, and specific human rights such as academic freedom, freedom of religion and education rights. He co-authored several textbooks and published more than 100 articles on these topics. He was closely involved in the constitution-making process of the nineties, and still advises government institutions on legislative and other issues.
Adv Anton Meyer SC had a long career in legislative drafting spanning over 40 years. He was a state law adviser in the Department of Justice for many years, and was the deputy chief state law adviser until he became the chief law adviser to parliament when the interim constitution came into effect in 1994. He served in this position until his retirement in 2002. He has been the co-presenter with Prof Malherbe of an extra-curricular program in legislative drafting at the University of Johannesburg since its inception in 2002. This programme was moved to the University of Cape Town three years ago.
Heinrich Muller is a qualified and experienced attorney of the High Court of South Africa and an environmental law specialist. Currently, he serves in the law reform unit at the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, in which capacity he has been the principal drafter of several key pieces of legislation. He has a vast amount of practical experience in the drafting of various forms of legislative instruments and managing their progress to final adoption, based on the ability to transform government policies into technically accurate and workable legislation. He is also a member of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.
How much?
R10,995 per delegate.
Certificate
A certificate of completion will be issued to those who pass the assessment.
How to sign up
Complete and submit the registration form. You will then be given the payment information. Please note that registrations will not be accepted until payment has been made.
One or two days before the course, we will send you the Zoom link. You will need to register and use a password to enter the virtual classroom.
Registrations close three days before the course starts.
Download the brochure.