Legislation Design and Advisory Committee Established

The LDAC has been established to improve the quality of legislation.

The Legislation Design and Advisory Committee (LDAC) has been established to improve the quality and effectiveness of legislation. The LDAC advises departments about the design and content of Bills as they are first being developed, when most value can be added. Earlier advice will help sort out problems in the framework of legislation and fix potential rule of law issues. This is similar to the work the former Legislation Design Committee performed between 2006 and 2008.

The Attorney-General announced these changes in a media statement of 29 June 2015. (external link)

The LDAC has taken over responsibility for the 2014 revised LAC Guidelines.

The Committee held its first meetings in July—when the Attorney-General attended briefly to note his support—and in August. Officials from several departments have been invited to discuss their Bills. The Committee has identified several matters that it wants to include in the LAC Guidelines (2014 edition) to assist officials. These include the general importance of departments developing regulations in tandem with a Bill so that the public is aware of their detailed requirements and can make informed submissions. Also, there is the general question as to the use of exhortatory provisions in statutes, without sanctions. The Committee has resolved to look at this issue in more depth.

The Committee is currently overseeing the writing of the Manual, which will be a detailed document supporting the Guidelines with case law, academic discussion, legislative examples, and links to external sources. It will provide policy officials, legal advisers, and others with a more thorough understanding of the justification for individual guidelines.

The LDAC wesbite has been updated to reflect the remodelling of the Committee. Further information on the LDAC can be found at www.ldac.org.nz(external link).

 

 

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