Thornton's Legislative Drafting

The leading professional title that legislative drafters internationally use for guidance when drafting new legislation or amending existing legislation.

"...the uber-manual of all legislative drafting manuals" Statute Law Review, 2023, 44

If you’re involved in drafting or amending legislation in the Commonwealth, the EU or beyond, you need a guide that will help you with both the traditional and modern techniques of drafting good quality statutory law.

Thornton’s Legislative Drafting is recognised as the leading professional title in this area, used and referred to by legal officers and drafters internationally.

Completely refreshed and updated, the new sixth edition includes full coverage of contemporary drafting developments and advances.

Fully updated and alongside the detailed, learned and professional guidance and examples of best, and bad, practice, the new 6th edition includes new chapters on:

- Legislation as a Tool for Regulation
- Transposition of EU Legislation
- Pre- and post-legislative scrutiny: the lifecycle of legislation

Thornton's Legislative Drafting helps the reader to:

- Identify the aim of legislation as one of the regulatory tools
- Align their concept of legislative quality with that of effectiveness of legislation
- Use effectiveness as the criterion for resolving drafting dilemmas
- Apply the effectiveness doctrine to all aspects of legislative drafting
- Earn exposure to examples of best and bad practice drawn from a plethora of jurisdictions
- Earn awareness of best practice in aspects of legislative drafting worldwide
- Understand the “why” behind legislative conventions, thus becoming equipped with the tools for their application in practice.