Law Commons^™

Legislative Drafting: American And British Practices Compared, Reed Dickerson

Articles by Maurer Faculty

The principal difference between legislative drafting for the British Parliament and legislative drafting for the American Congress, Mr. Dickerson declares, arises from the fact that the many-authored legislation 'proposed in Congress is extremely vulnerable to revision and redrafting as it makes its way through subcommittee hearings and committee debates, whereas the legislation in Parliament, prepared by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, is much more likely to be enacted in its original form. This article points up the problems inherent in drafting statutes in a complex world.