Questionnaire To The Legislative Drafter
Questionnaire should reveal specific primary legal research answers. Answers to be reflected in a combination of ways, i.e. the narrative, table or graph format.
As a form of a guide /suggestion, here are some examples of questions to be asked within said questionnaire:
1. Are you a qualified Attorney-at-law? Yes / No
2. How long have you been practising law with the Attorney General’s Chambers?
a. 1yr to 5 yrs b. 6 yrs to 10 yrs c. 11 yrs to 15 yrs d. over 15 yrs
3. How long have you been practising as a drafter in the Legislative Drafting Unit
within the Attorney General’s Chambers?
a. 1 yr to 5 yrs b. 6 yrs to 10 yrs c. 11 yrs to 15 yrs d. over 15 yrs
4. Are you a certified and trained in the specialized skill of Legislative Drafting?
Yes / No
5. How are your Drafting Instructions received?
a. Written b. (over the telephone) c. Verbal (face to face)
d. Combination of a & b e. combination of b & c
6. What type of office/department do the majority of your written Drafting Instructions originate from?
a. Legal Officers within gov’t departments
b. Permanent Secretary of govt department
c. Cabinet Secretary
d. Office the Prime Minister
e. Parliamentary Representative Office
7. Referring to the foregoing question 6, what are the combination ways have you received a Drafting Instruction for piece of legislation?
a. Only _______ ;
b. A combination of _____ & ______ ;
c. A combination of _____ , _______ & ______ ;
d. A combination of ____ , _____ , ______ & _____ .
8. How would you rate the level of interaction with the Policy Maker “the politician”, once a formal Drafting Instruction is assigned on your desk?
a. Never,
b. Almost never;
c. Sometimes’
d. Often
9. How would rate the level of interaction with thew Policy Maker “the technocrat’ with the instructing government department once a formal Drafting Instruction is assigned on your desk?
a. Never
b. Almost never
c. Sometimes
d. Often
10. List and describe the procedural steps taken by you, the Legislative Drafter to
produce a new piece of of legislation.
11. List and describe the procedural steps taken by you, the of the Legislative drafter to produce an amended piece of legislation?
12. Are you familiar with the Legislative Drafting principles of Grant Thornton?
Yes / No
13. Which of his five (5) principles best describes your approach to drafting a piece of legislation?
a. Understanding the proposal
b. Analysing the proposal,
c. Designing the law
d. Composing & developing the law
e. Verifying the draft
f. a Combination of ________
g. All of the above.
14. Have you ever been directed by a policy maker contrary to a written Drafting Instruction? Yes / No
15. Would you consider yourself a solitary drafter?
16. Do you feel exposed to the political whims & fancies of the policy maker to produce legislation quick legislation? Yes / No
17. Through the established Legislative Drafting procedures of your LD Unit, do you feel buffered, shielded from the overarching policymaker, who is both a member Executive and the Legislature?
a. Yes,
b. No
If your response is No, please expound and state why.
