Legislation in Europe: A Comprehensive Guide For Scholars and Practitioners

This book provides a practical handbook for legislation. Written by a team of experts, practitioners and scholars, it invites national institutions to apply its teachings in the context of their own drafting manuals and laws. Analysis focuses on general principles and best practice within the context of the different systems of government in Europe. Questions explored include subsidiarity, legitimacy, efficacy, effectiveness, efficiency, proportionality, monitoring and regulatory impact assessment. Taking a practical approach which starts from evidence-based rationality, it represents essential reading for all practitioners in the field of legislative drafting.

Ulrich Karpen was Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, University of Hamburg.

Helen Xanthaki is Professor of Law at University College London, Dean of Postgraduate Laws Programmes, University of London (Worldwide), Senior Research Fellow, Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies, Member, Committee for the Scrutiny of the Law-making Process, Presidency of the Hellenic Government, and President, International Association for Legislation. She is a leading expert in legislation, law-making and legislative quality. She was the first and only Professor of Legislative Drafting in the UK, and served for 18 years at the Sir William Dale Centre for Legislative Studies (most of them as the Director).
She has published extensively in the field of legislation and legislative drafting, recently as the author of The Lifecycle of Legislation (with Maria Mousmouti and Constantin Stefanou), Better Legislation and the EU (with Jurate Vaiciukaite), Thornton's Legislative Drafting (5th edition) and Art and Technology of Rules and Regulations. She has edited collections: Ulrich Karpen and Helen Xanthaki, Legislation in Europe: A Country by Country Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners (2020, Hart Publishers, Oxford), Ulrich Karpen and Helen Xanthaki (eds), Legislation in Europe: A Handbook for Scholars and Practitioners (2017, Hart Publishers, Oxford), and Helen Xanthaki, (ed) Enhancing Legislative Drafting in the Commonwealth: A Wealth of Innovation (2014, Routledge, London).
She has contributed to most journals in the field, including the Theory and Practice of Legislation, Statute Law Review, Hukim Journal on Legislation, European Journal of Law Reform, The Korean Legal Research Institute Journal of Legislation and Evaluation, and Studi parlamentari e di politica costituzionale.
She has offered evidence to the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the European Commission, the European Parliament (Legal Affairs Committee). She has served as a consultant to the European Commission, the European Parliament, governments, the World Bank and many other national, regional, and international fora.