From Policy to Law: The Role of the Legislative Drafter

Abstract

One area of the legal profession which has received limited attention in Nigeria is the role of the legislative drafter in the legislative governance arena, especially in drafting Bills and other legislative instruments. This contribution is an effort to give an insight into this exciting but little explored area of legal practice which has very decisive impact on the effective governance of any country. Next, after this introduction, I broadly discuss the distinction between policy and law, and the stages of the legislative process. I then examine the role of the legislative drafter in the effort to transform a policy into law. The contribution is concluded with a summary of how legislative drafting as a discipline may be strengthened for improved legislative governance.