Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies

About the Centre

The Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies specialises in teaching and research in the field of legislative drafting and law reform . The Centre plays an immensely important role in the development of legislative drafting as an academic discipline worthy of specialised study. It seeks to spread the Sir William Dale ideas for simple, precise and accurate legislative texts which are accessible to lawyers and non-lawyers alike in all jurisdictions.

Despite general recognition of legislative drafting as a key discipline in its own right, very few academic institutions inside and outside the UK offer relevant training. Drafters in most countries are expected to learn "on the job" with little guidance on the theoretical and practical framework of their task. The Centre's teaching programmes enable students to familiarise themselves with the concepts of legislative drafting and law reform before they begin their professional career as drafters and law reform activists. Experienced drafters are offered the opportunity to systematise and update their knowledge. Sessions on theory of drafting, small classes and intense drafting exercises are the main tools of tuition. The Centre has expertise and offers tuition to drafters, legal officers and from the Commonwealth countries. Moreover, the Centre has expertise and offers tuition addressing the particular needs of drafters in Eastern and Central Europe, Latin America and Australia. This broad scope of activity reflects the creation of new countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in some parts of the Commonwealth, as well as to take into account the increasing tendency for devolution within existing states. The Centre's teaching also takes account of the traditions of the Civil Law as well as those of the Common Law. On the basis of performance in class and in assignments there is opportunity for successful students to register for the M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Legislative Drafting of the University of London.

The Centre offers the LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies of the University of London.

The Centre is delighted to announce that the European Commission has offered its Jean Monnet prestigious seal of approval to two courses: the Jean Monnet Module "Legislating for EU Membership and Accession" and Jean Monnet Module "Theories of European Integration" . The Modules are offered both as modules of the EU Direction of the LLM in Advanced Legislative Studies and as stand-alone Summer Courses leading to a Certificate of Attendance.

The Centre continues to offer the one-month intensive Commonwealth Course in Legislative Drafting aiming to offer professional training in legislative drafting to legal officers of the Commonwealth. A Legislative Drafting Course brochure and application form are available on this site both in MS Word and PDF format.

The Centre offers consultancy in the area of law reform and legislative drafting and its staff organis a number of tailor-made courses in Europe, Africa and Asia. The Centre has received funding from the Department for International Development for a three-years project, now extended to four years, designed to provide training to Ukrainian drafters. Emphasis is given on the principles of modern legislative drafting in civil law countries, institutional reform for EU accession countries, and drafting for approximation with EU legislation.

The Centre has received funding from the Commission of the European Union for a number of projects related to law reform in the area of EU criminal law. The Centre participates to a large number of similar projects funded by the European Union and administered from UK and European agencies.

The Centre organises the Annual Sir William Dale Memorial Lecture . Prestigious speakers from the UK and abroad explore the latest developments on issues related to legislative drafting.

• The first Sir William Dale Memorial lecture took place on Monday, 2 July 2001. Dame Judge Rosalyn Higgins of the International Court of Justice addressed a large audience of foreign signatories, Law Lords, civil servants and academics and discussed the "Colonial Law and Clarity of Drafting: The International Court and William Dale's Two Abiding Interests". The lecture was chaired by the Rt. Hon. Lord Clyde.
• The second Memorial lecture took place on Monday, 28 October 2002 in the Chancellor's Hall, Senate House, University of London. The Rt. Hon. the Lord Goldsmith, QC, Her Majesty's Attorney General discussed "Parliament for Lawyers: An Overview of the Legislative Process".
• The third Memorial lecture took place on Monday 27 October 2003 in the Chancellor's Hall, Senate House, University of London. The Rt Hon. Lord Hope of Craighead discussed "What a Second Chamber Can Do for Legislative Scrutiny". Lord Woolf, the Lord Chief Justice, chaired the lecture.
• The fourth Memorial lecture took place on Monday, 8 November 2004 in the Beveridge Hall of Senate House, University of London. Jean Claude Piris, Director-General of the Legal Services of the Council of the European Union, analysed the topic "The Legal Orders of the European Community and of the Member States: Peculiarities and Influences in Drafting". Sir Geoffrey Bowman KCB, First Parliamentary Counsel, chaired the lecture.
• The fifth Memorial lecture took place on Moday, 7 November 2005 in the Chancellor's Hall of Senate House, University of London. Sir Geoffrey Bowman KCB, First Parliamentary Counsel, discussed "The Art of Legislative Drafting". Lady Justice Mary Arden DBE chaired the lecture.
• The sixth Memorial Lecture took place on Friday, 10 November 2006 at Chatham House. Professor Kader Asmal MP, National Assembly, South Africa discussed "The South African Constitution and the transition from apartheid: Legislating the reconciliation of rights in a multi-cultural society". Professor Jeffrey Jowell QC chaired the lecture.
• The seventh Memorial Lecture took place on Thursday, 1 November 2007 at the IALS. The Hon. Mr Justice Etherton Chairman of The Law Commission for England and Wales discussed "The Law Commission in the 21st century: fitness for purpose in a changed environment". Lord Rodger of Earlsferry chaired the lecture.
• The eighth Memorial Lecture took place on Monday, 3 November 2008 at the IALS. Stephen Laws CB, First Rarliamentary Counsel, discussed "Plus ça change? Continuity and Change in UK Legislative Drafting Practice". Sir George Engle KCB, QC chaired the lecture.

The Centre collaborates with the Statute Law Society and organises annual series of evening seminars and public lectures on aspects of national, EU and international legislative drafting.

Research is undertaken at Centre, staff and student levels. Current focus is on the quality of EU legislation. The Centre co-operates with the Institute of European Law of Basel (Switzerland) and Indiana University (USA) in the publication of the European Journal of Law Reform .

The Centre and its staff offer consultancy services to governmental and international agencies in the area of legislative drafting.