Law Drafting Office

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22355, 19 March 1938, Page 16

Law Drafting Office

The announcement of the Attorney-General, reported this morning, that the staff of the Law Drafting Office is to be increased by one assista t draftsman, will be approved by all who have had occasion to note how legislation is commonly brought forward and in what slate much of it is finally enacted. It is a fact which the history of session after session emphasises that Parliament is called together while its programme is still being hastily put into shape; and very often the process continues with little alteration while Parliament sits, the drafting office remaining under high pressure to the end. For this, of course. Ministers are in some degree to blame; they can also plead, from time to time, very good excuses for being behindhand. But unless or until comprehensive Parliamentary reforms lighten the routine work of Ministers and otherwise raise Parliamentary efficiency, it appears to be essential that the drafting office should be staffed and equipped to deal a little more easily with the pre-ses-sional and sessional rushes of work. The difficulty under which the office has laboured, particularly during some of the very heavy sessions of recent years, is reflected, unfortunately, on many pages of the Statute Book, where bad drafting, clumsy, obscure, and imperfectly adapted to the purpose, is far too frequent. Since the coming session promises—or threatens -—to be one of hard legislative driving, the addition to the law drafting staff has been made just in time.