How To Make Effective Legislative Proposals

This book outlines the way in which legislative proposals in the British Virgin Islands are conceived and processed. It also contains best practice suggestions on interfacing with Parliamentary Counsel regardless of the jurisdiction in which one is working. Those suggestions are based on the author's well-received earlier publication The Legislative Process: A Handbook for Public Officials (2009). That book was featured significantly in The Parliamentarian: Journal of Commonwealth Parliaments, 2010, Issue 1 XCI. In a review contained in The Loophole: Journal of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel (August, 2010), the reviewer wrote, "In these times of recession I commend this book to anyone in Government wishing to improve processes to enable the production of legislation with improved efficiency and cost effectiveness." And in the Statute Law Review (April, 2010), 31(2), with reference to its suggestions for improved efficiency, it was said that ". . . there is little that can be described as other than good advice here."

Bilika H. Simamba was trained as a legislative counsel in the UK and Canada many years ago. He was head of legislative drafting in the British Virgin Islands and has worked on long-term technical assistance projects in the Caribbean and Africa, and has published in peer reviewed journals in the field of legislative drafting and law in general. Based on this book, he has developed a one-day introductory course and a two-day advanced course. The courses are easily adaptable to any Commonwealth jurisdiction. He lives and works in the Cayman Islands. Comments on the book may be sent to bsimamba@yahoo.co.uk