FOREWORD
Letter of Transmittal to the Minister of Justice
The Legislation Advisory Committee's terms of reference 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 public law aspects of legislative proposals that 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 a proposal 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 legislative proposals 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 legislative proposals it considers, but gives attention to whether the proposals give effect to the policy (so far as the Committee understands the policy) and does that consistently with accepted legal principle. In this respect, the Committee reinforces the work of the Parliamentary Counsel Office and the Law Commission.
This report covers the period from 1 January 1994 to the 31 December 1995. During this period the Committee has published Issues of Principle LAC Report No 8, produced a revised paper on ways of improving the quality of legislation, made submissions to select committees on 44 legislative proposals, given advice on proposed bills and regulations to departments and select committees, and advised the Clerk of the House on the wording of seven proposed indicative referenda questions.
In this, its latest report, the Committee has chosen to discuss a limited number of legislative issues that appear to recur in one form or another. As the report states the LAC's aim in drawing attention to these `recurring issues' is "to encourage the use of good practices by highlighting basic principles ... rather than to criticise the particular Ministers, government departments, or officials responsible for the cited legislative proposals".
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 LAC Report No 8, 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
31 March 1996
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 31 December 1993 to 31 December 1995. While the LAC normally endeavours to report at intervals of about eighteen months, the longer interval between this report and the last is due to pressures arising from a sharp increase in the number of submissions on legislative proposals that the Committee felt obliged to make during 1995.
You will note that, in this report, we have selected a number of recurring issues, and have used legislative proposals on which we made submissions during the reporting period to illustrate our concerns about those issues. I should emphasise that the LAC's aim in drawing attention to these `recurring issues' is to encourage the use of good practices by highlighting basic principles rather than to criticise the particular Ministers, government departments or officials responsible for the cited legislative proposals.
Yours sincerely
Mervyn Probine Chairman