Foreword and Letter of Transmittal
FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE
The Legislation Advisory Committee's principal functions are to scrutinise and make submissions to the appropriate body or person upon aspects of Bills introduced into Parliament affecting public law or raising public law issues; report to the Minister of Justice or the Legislation Committee of Cabinet on aspects of legislative proposals which are referred to it; and advise the Minister of Justice on such other topics and matters in the field of public law as the Minister from time to time refers to it. It also has the task of monitoring the content of new legislation specifically from an "Official Information" standpoint.
The Committee's publication Legislative Change: Guidelines on Process and Content, first published in 1987 and revised in 1991, sets out clear guidelines on the process of preparing legislation and elements of the content of legislation that should always be addressed. Cabinet has endorsed this report and Ministers putting forward proposals for legislation are to report on the proposal's compliance with the principles stated in that report.
The Legislation Advisory Committee also plays a valuable role in improving the quality of legislation by examining bills before the House and making submissions to the appropriate select committee on aspects of the proposed legislation that raise public law issues. In making these submissions the Committee is not in general concerned with the policy of the Bills it considers, but gives attention to whether the bill gives effect to the policy (so far as the Committee understands the policy) and whether the bill does that consistently with principle. In this respect it reinforces the work of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Law Commission.
This report covers the period from 1 July 1992 to the 31 December 1993. During this period the Committee made submissions on 21 bills, commented on bills during the drafting stage, and produced a discussion paper (for limited circulation at this stage) on ways of improving the quality of legislation. In this, its latest report, the Committee has chosen to discuss, in some depth, a limited number of its submissions which raised important issues of principle.
Although the Legislation Advisory Committee is a ministerial committee set up by the Minister of Justice it works independently and its views do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of the day. However, the calibre of its members is such that both the Government and Parliament respect and value its advice. As I did in the Foreword to Report No. 7, I commend the Committee for its thoughtful and professional analysis of a very wide range of legislative issues, and for the excellent contribution it has made, and is making, to improve the quality of legislation.
Douglas Graham
Minister of Justice
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
23 March 1994
The Hon Douglas Graham, MP Minister of Justice Parliament Buildings WELLINGTON
Dear Minister
On behalf of the Legislation Advisory Committee, I am pleased to submit a report on the Committee's activities covering the period from 1 July 1992 to 31 December 1993.
You will note that, as in Report No. 7, we discuss a limited number of bills in some depth. These particular bills were chosen because they raised important matters of principle. Although we have been critical of some aspects of all of them, we would not like it thought that they are examples of the legislative "norm"; but they do illustrate the need for great vigilance in the preparation and drafting of new legislative proposals.
Yours sincerely
Mervyn Probine Chairman