Book Review: Legislative Drafting: Step-by-Step. By Arthur J. Rynearson

AuthorTonye Clinton Jaja
Published date01 July 2017
Date01 July 2017
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1177/2322005817696572
Subject MatterBook Reviews
08ALE696572_F.indd
Book Reviews
Asian Journal of Legal Education
4(2) 182–190
© 2017 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2322005817696572
http://ale.sagepub.com
Legislative Drafting: Step-by-Step. By Arthur J. Rynearson, International Law Institute and Carolina
Academic Press, Durham, North Carolina, USA, 2013, 235 Pp., US$45.00, ISBN 978-1-61163-380-1,
Library of Congress Cataloguing Number (LCCN) 2013000071
It is hard for an American to evaluate a book that criticizes the drafting of statutes in the United Kingdom on the basis
of ‘the continental system’ as exemplified by France, Germany, and Sweden. Being unfamiliar with the latter and only
generally familiar with the former, I can only comment on the author’s analysis and recommendations in the light of American
experience.1, 2
In accordance with Professor R. Dickerson’s quotation above, it would be difficult for a Nigerian like
myself to evaluate Arthur Rynearson’s Legislative Drafting: Step-by-Step, considering that I am
unfamiliar with the system of legislative drafting in the US Senate, I ‘can only comment on the author’s
analysis and recommendations in the light of the Nigerian or Non-American experience’.
In this regard, the relevant question to ask is whether the author, Arthur Rynearson, has achieved the
primary objective(s) for writing the book—Legislative Drafting: Step-by-Step.
The first question is: What is the primary objective of the author in writing the book—Legislative
Drafting: Step-by-Step?
In the author’s own words as stated in the book:
Legislative Drafting: Step-by-Step is designed to assist all who read, write, or use legislation to better understand
the basics of legislative drafting and the important role that well-written legislation plays in promoting the rule of
law. . .the purpose of this manual is to provide a five-step framework for drafting legislation:
(1) Legalize: achieving the intended legal effect.
(2)...

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