Thornton's Legislative Drafting

"...the uber-manual of all legislative drafting manuals" Statute Law Review, 2023, 44 If you're involved in drafting or amending legislation in the Commonwealth, the EU or beyond, you need a guide that will help you with both the traditional and modern techniques of drafting good quality statutory law. Thornton's Legislative Drafting is recognised as the leading professional title in this area, used and referred to by legal officers and drafters internationally. Completely refreshed and updated, the new sixth edition includes full coverage of contemporary drafting developments and advances. Fully updated and alongside the detailed, learned and professional guidance and examples of best, and bad, practice, the new 6th edition includes new chapters on: - Legislation as a Tool for Regulation - Transposition of EU Legislation - Pre- and post-legislative scrutiny: the lifecycle of legislation Thornton's Legislative Drafting helps the reader to: - Identify the aim of legislation as one of the regulatory tools - Align their concept of legislative quality with that of effectiveness of legislation - Use effectiveness as the criterion for resolving drafting dilemmas - Apply the effectiveness doctrine to all aspects of legislative drafting - Earn exposure to examples of best and bad practice drawn from a plethora of jurisdictions - Earn awareness of best practice in aspects of legislative drafting worldwide - Understand the “why” behind legislative conventions, thus becoming equipped with the tools for their application in practice.

Table of Contents:
1 Legislation as a tool for regulation 2 Words 3 Syntax and punctuation 4 Style 5 Specific matters of style 6 Miscellaneous words and expressions 7 Interpretation Acts 8 The drafting process: Part 1 9 The drafting process: Part 2 10 Formalities and arrangement 11 Preliminary provisions 12 Powers and duties 13 Substantive and administrative provisions: Part 1 14 Substantive and administrative provisions: Part 2 15 Substantive and administrative provisions: Part 3 16 Supplementary provisions 17 Penal provisions 18 Final provisions 19 Amending legislation 20 Subordinate legislation 21 Transposition of EU legislation 22 Pre- and post-legislative scrutiny: The lifecycle of legislation

About the Author :
Helen Xanthaki is Professor of Law at University College London, Dean of Postgraduate Laws Programmes, University of London (Worldwide), Senior Research Fellow, Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, Member, Committee for the Scrutiny of the Law-making Process, Presidency of the Hellenic Government, and President, International Association for Legislation. She is a leading expert in legislation, law-making and legislative quality. She was the first and only Professor of Legislative Drafting in the UK, and served for 18 years at the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies (most of them as the Director). She has published extensively in the field of legislation and legislative drafting, recently as the author of The Lifecycle of Legislation (with Maria Mousmouti and Constantin Stefanou), Better Legislation and the EU (with Jurate Vaiciukaite), Thornton's Legislative Drafting (5th edition) and Art and Technology of Rules and Regulations. She has edited collections: Ulrich Karpen and Helen Xanthaki, Legislation in Europe: A Country by Country Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners (2020, Hart Publishers, Oxford), Ulrich Karpen and Helen Xanthaki (eds), Legislation in Europe: A Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners (2017, Hart Publishers, Oxford), and Helen Xanthaki, (ed) Enhancing Legislative Drafting in the Commonwealth: A Wealth of Innovation (2014, Routledge, London). She has contributed to most journals in the field, including the Theory and Practice of Legislation, Statute Law Review, Hukim Journal on Legislation, European Journal of Law Reform, The Korean Legal Research Institute Journal of Legislation and Evaluation, and Studi parlamentari e di politica costituzionale. She has offered evidence to the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the European Commission, the European Parliament (Legal Affairs Committee). She has served as a consultant to the European Commission, the European Parliament, governments, the World Bank and many other national, regional, and international fora.

Review :
...the uber-manual of all legislative drafting manuals...Like all legislative drafters around the world, I love Thornton's Legislative Drafting both in its earlier editions and its new editions, and I will always regard it as an invaluable tool for those who wish to think more about the choices that they make in their everyday drafting activities. It is an essential work for which the legislative drafting community remains constantly grateful. The 6th edition of a legal text is in itself a tribute to its durability and usefulness. In the over 50 years since G.C. Thornton published his 1st edition in 1970, his book has stood the test of time … Under the direction of Professor Xanthaki, the 5th and now 6th editions … have continued to pursue Thornton's original objective of providing practical guidance to those engaged in drafting legislation.