Legislative drafting style – key points

The Law Commission’s Report 35 Legislation Manual: Structure and Style (1996) contains useful material on matters of drafting style. The Parliamentary Counsel Office has incorporated material from this report in its own drafting manual and adopts many of the drafting practices and policies recommended by the Commission.

The Parliamentary Counsel Office considers that all legislation, whether primary or secondary, should seek to comply with the following criteria.

Good organisation of material

• Material should be arranged in a logical order.
• General provisions should be followed by specific provisions and exceptions.
• Provisions that relate to the same subject should be grouped together.
• Provisions should be arranged in temporal sequence.
• Provisions that are significant should come before provisions of lesser importance.
• Sections and clauses should be limited in the number of subclauses they contain. As a general rule, a clause should have no more than six subclauses.
• Division into Parts and the use of headings and subheadings breaks up a long document and aids comprehension.
• Sections and clauses should be numbered.

Use of clear language

The drafting should be as simple as possible. It should also be precise so that the document has its intended effect. The instrument must be workable but at the same time drafted in language and in a style that ensures it can be readily understood by its readers. Clarity of drafting should encourage clarity and simplicity of policy.

• Sentences should be short and well structured.
• Sentences should not contain excessive embedded and relative clauses.
• The active rather than the passive voice should be used.
• Archaic language and expressions should be avoided.
• Gender-neutral language should be used.
• The drafting should be consistent. Words should be used in the same sense. If the sense is changed, this should be made clear.
• Overuse of capitals should be avoided.
• Propositions should be expressed in positive rather than negative terms.
• Similar propositions should be expressed in similar language.
• Repetition and unnecessary words should be avoided.
• Excessive cross-references and qualifications should also be avoided.
• Expressions in common or everyday use should be used wherever possible. Jargon should be avoided. However, technical terms will be necessary in legislation that deals with technical subject matter.
• Paragraphs and subparagraphs can break up blocks of text but multiple paragraphs and subparagraphs, while having the appearance of clarity, can often involve several ideas or concepts and be difficult to understand.

The use of outline Parts that give a reader an overview of an Act and that explain the scheme and key concepts in it may assist users. Graphics and diagrams that explain procedures and processes may also be useful aids. Including examples to explain the operation of complex or technical definitions or provisions may also be appropriate. The Interpretation Act 1999 now expressly recognises that this material may be referred to in ascertaining the meaning of legislation.

Extract from:

Legislation Advisory Committee (2001): Guidelines on Process & Content of Legislation, Legislation Advisory Committee , Wellington