Law drafters pack year of work into months in pre-election scramble

Thursday 31 March 2022

As politicians rush to lodge new legislation before the elections, Jersey’s law drafting team have been left to deal with nearly a year’s worth of work in just three months.

Head of the island’s Legislative Drafting Office (LDO) Lucy Marsh-Smith said it had been an “exceptionally” busy time for the team, after 26 draft laws were lodged for debate during the first quarter of this year.

“Since the average number of laws passed in a year is around 30, that is a huge achievement,” she said.  

The LDO also dealt with 45 pieces of secondary legislation during the same time period – well above the average they usually receive.

Pictured: The Legislative Drafting Office received over 70 pieces of legislation in the first quarter of this year. 

As a team of lawyers, aided by administrative support, the LDO prepare laws for enactment by the States of Jersey. They also prepare amendments to legislation on behalf of Ministers, Scrutiny Panels and individual States Members. 

“People don’t always realise that the process from policy initiative to presentation of final draft takes time if the finished product is to be of the right quality to work legally,” she added. 

“The office runs courses to assist policy officers in how to convert policy into drafting instructions, but drafting is a two-way process, and there are many who need to be consulted – stakeholders, Scrutiny and the Law Officers Department for example.” 

Pictured: The LDO prepare laws for enactment by the States of Jersey and the Queen in Council. 

The LDO celebrated its 30^th anniversary this month with an event highlighting the developments in legislative drafting in Jersey over that time.  

Speaking at the event, the current Greffier of the States Mark Egan emphasised the importance of the work of the LDO to Government.

He added that he was proud to be associated with the office, particularly during the covid pandemic when the drafters were a "real credit" to the island. 

Pictured: Dame Brenda King, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, delivered a keynote lecture at the 30th-anniversary event. 

Key achievements of the LDO over the last three decades included the development of the electronic statute book and annual revision of the legislation, through to more recent changes including developing a trainee programme for locals lawyers to become drafters. 

The first of those trainees, Advocate Jackie Harris, highlighted how much there is to learn, even for an experienced lawyer, to be proficient in legislative drafting. 

LDO will shortly be recruiting for a second trainee. 

Pictured top: Head of the island’s Legislative Drafting Office Lucy Marsh-Smith and the Code of 1771, the first publication setting out the island's laws at the time.