Third Online Legislative Drafting Workshop convened for the People’s Majlis Secretariat of the Maldives

The two-day workshop focused on rationalising legislation and expressing legislative intent

On 18 and 21 March 2021, the Max Planck Foundation convened the third, and final, workshop in a three-part workshop series for 15 members of the People’s Majlis Secretariat of the Maldives. The content was built upon topics covered during two previous legislative drafting workshops held with this target group and comprised both theoretical and practical components.

The online event was held via video conference with participants in the Maldives gathered in one room, in accordance with national health guidelines, and Foundation staff connected virtually. It examined tools to rationalise legislation by measuring potential legislative impact and means through which to effectively express legislative intent relying on the rules of statutory interpretation. Specifically, presentations explored an introduction to regulatory impact assessment, the importance of pre-legislative consultation and public participation, presumptions in statutory interpretation and the rules and aids applicable to statutory interpretation. Participants engaged in lively discussions during practical exercises which asked them to both analyse and draft legislative provisions.

While core content was presented during the live video conferences, participants were given access to supplementary material on the Foundation’s LEARN platform – which is an open-source teaching environment that allows participants to watch additional videos, take part in further exercises and engage with supporting reading material.

The conclusion of this workshop brings to an end the core activities of the Foundation’s “Strengthening the Rule of Law in the Maldives” project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.