Questions about the procedure, norms, and language of legislative drafting.
Questions tagged [legislative-drafting]
10 questions
9
votes
3 answers
Are laws written logically and rigorously?
Are laws written logically and rigorously in law books? For example, do texts of laws specifically use "if and only if" instead of the more frequently used but less logically correct "if"? I am just giving a specific example, but there could be…
user107952
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6
votes
6 answers
Why don't law collections show who the author of the law is?
When reading laws of the Swiss government it just says: "The federal council decrees x,y,z.". Now I'm wondering who the author of some text was and there seems to be no way to find out. I'm sure it was not the federal council itself, they just…
Hakaishin
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5
votes
1 answer
Replacing "shall not", "shall be", "shall" etc. with "must" or other more imperative words
According to the following governmental web page "shall not" should not be used to imply prohibition or imperative, instead "must not" should be used:
Shall and must
Here is an example:
You shall not transfer, assign, or convey Your Account,…
metablaster
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3
votes
2 answers
Why are some sections of the US Code formatted so weirdly?
There are actually two questions here.
First, why are sections not in order? You have 28 USC §1 through §6, which talk about the Supreme Court, then you have §41 to §49 (appeals courts), then §81 to §144 (district courts) immediately afterwards.
Why…
SilverCrown
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3
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3 answers
Would a tautological law have any effect?
Is there any case where a law saying something like "Any person who commits theft is guilty of theft" would have any effect?
Someone
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2
votes
1 answer
What is the difference between “by” and “under” an act?
E.g. s149(1)(a), Equality Act 2010 says:
A public authority must, in the exercise of its functions, have due regard to the need to—
(a)eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under this…
TylerDurden
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1
vote
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What routes are there for citizens to attempt to change a law in Sweden?
If a citizen wished to have a change to a law voted upon by the government, in Sweden, how should they get into contact with lawmakers to discuss the idea, analyze the current law, provide argumentation for what should be changed and why, draft the…
Julius Hamilton
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Does every bill that is passed in a state legislature automatically mean that some part of the legal statutes was modified?
When a bill is passed in a state legislature, is it possible that that the bill just stands alone as a new law, or does it mean that a statute in the state's code of law is updated?
For example, if a bill in New Jersey is passed that says that…
lgshost
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2 answers
Is the use of the singular "they/their/them" in legal writing and legislative drafting recognized to be acceptable / appropriate?
Is use of the singular "they/their/them" in legal writing and/or legislative drafting recognized to be acceptable / appropriate?
Jen
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Are legislators and legislative drafts people legally one and the same?
If they are legally seen as such, this seems to me a pretty egregious (egregiously counterproductive) legal fiction. There is no way that members of a legislature can have the time to go through the minute levels of detail and wording that would be…
TylerDurden
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