The final workshop in a series to equip ministerial staff with the tools to produce high quality legislation
The Max Planck Foundation recently conducted a three-day workshop on “Advanced Drafting Techniques” for legal officers from Line Ministries in Malé, Maldives.
The workshop was facilitated by the Foundation from 20-22 November 2022 within the framework of the German Federal Foreign Office funded project, “Stabilising the Rule of Law by Supporting the Reform Agenda of the Republic of Maldives”.
The objective of the workshop series is to support the Strategic Action Plan of the Government of Maldives, by promoting the skills, knowledge and techniques of best practices in legislative drafting and policy development to be able to address common legislative solutions to policy questions or problems which frequently occur.
On the first workshop day, the Foundation examined the different principles and rules of statutory interpretation under the Maldives Interpretation Act. Participants applied these principles and rules of interpretation during practical exercises, assessing the meaning of problematic provisions and proposing alternative formulations in light of their context and purpose.
On the second day, Dr Maria Mousmouti – Associate Research Fellow, Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London, introduced participants to the elements of good legislation and the techniques for ensuring the drafting of good legislation. Participants were tasked with scrutinising the quality and effectiveness of a draft Bill during a group exercise, which encouraged them to apply the knowledge and tools gained in a collaborative environment.
On the third and last day of the workshop, participants reflected on various tools and devices to tackle complexity in legislation such as plain language drafting, in order to make legislation as simple and clear as possible.
Participants expressed their appreciation to the Foundation for the positive impact that the workshop series has had in promoting best practices in legislative drafting and for advancing the legislative reform agenda of the Government of Maldives.