About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

About CALC

CALC is the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel. CALC's object is to promote cooperation in matters of professional interest among people in the Commonwealth engaged in legislative drafting or in training people in legislative drafting. CALC has members in most parts of the Commonwealth.

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Notice of general meeting and nominations CALC Council

Notice that a general meeting of CALC will occur on day 2 of the CALC Singapore 2026 conference on 16 July 2026

CALC Council nominations are due by 11:59pm on 11 June 2026 British Summer Time (GMT/UTC +1)

Further information is available on the What's On page.

___________________________

Election Rules

A copy of the Election Rules as amended by the CALC Council on 9 April 2026 is now available under Constitution and Rules.

___________________________

New CALC Secretary appointed

Following Annette O’Callaghan’s departure, we are pleased to welcome Phil Chessum as the incoming Secretary. Phil has kindly stepped in to support CALC during this transition.

We appreciate your patience whilst we finalise Phil's handover. A formal announcement will appear in the April 2026 newsletter.

During this period, Phil can be contacted at the new CALC Secretary email: calcsecretary01@gmail.com

Please visit the What's On page for details

If you wish to promote an event on the CALC website, contact: calcsecretary01@gmail.com

Ninth International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform

When: 29 – 30 October 2026

Where:  District of Columbia Bar Association Headquarters, Washington, DC and Virtual

Fee:  In-person - $345;  Virtual - $115

Registration:   https://ilegis.regfox.com/2026-ilegis-conference

More information:  https://www.ilegis.org

The conference provides an international perspective on legislative drafting, the legislative process and current legislative issues, including the use of artificial intelligence.  There will be over 30 speakers from 16 countries.

Contact:  Please email info@ilegis.org

CALC Singapore Conference 2026

The CALC Singapore Conference 2026 took place on 15 to 17 July, with the CALC general meeting taking place on 16 July. Further details, including the programme and election results can be found here: Members' Area | Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel

 

Latest Newsletter

  • October 2026 Newsletter ( 7.07 MB | )

SUBMISSION DETAILS:
The CALC Newsletter is a publication sharing updates, announcements, and professional news relevant to members. It provides a space for community connection around the Commonwealth.

Please contact the CALC Secretary if you are interested in contributing to the next newsletter at calcsecretary01@gmail.com

For a comprehensive collection of the CALC Newsletters, please see the Newsletter archive.

Latest Loophole

SUBMISSION DETAILS:
The Loophole is a journal for the publication of articles on drafting, legal, procedural and
management issues relating to the preparation and enactment of legislation. It features
articles presented at CALC’s bi-annual conferences. CALC members and others interested
in legislative topics are also encouraged to submit articles for publication.

Submissions should be no more than 8,000 words (including footnotes) and be accompanied
by an abstract of no more than 200 words.

They should be formatted in MSWord (or similar compatible word processing software) adopting
the style set out in the template available on the CALC home page.

Submissions and other correspondence about The Loophole should be addressed to —

Aleksander Hynnä, Editor in Chief, The Loophole
E-mail: loophole.calc@gmail.com

For a comprehensive collection of the CALC Loopholes, please see the Loophole archive.

Employment + Contract Drafting

Advertising Positions Vacant:

To view latest employment opportunities or contact contract drafters, see the Employment page.

If you wish to advertise on the Employment page:

  • CALC charges £1,500 GBP (or approx $2,000 USD) to post the advertisement information on www.calc.ngo and to send an email to all CALC members (approximately about 3,100 members around and outside the Commonwealth) advising them that 1 or more positions are advertised on the CALC website. That single fee is for both emailing all CALC members and posting on www.calc.ngo the related advertising information. 
  • CALC does not require payment from the advertiser before the advertisement is placed on the CALC website and an email is sent to all CALC members.
  • CALC appreciates that advertisers need the material notified by email and posted ASAP, and well before the applicable closing dates, to maximise its availability and effect. The ad is posted as soon as possible after the information and confirmation are received. The email to members begins at the same time but can take 5-7 days to complete running.
  • CALC’s Treasurer will in due course email an invoice for the fee. This usually happens after the advertisement is placed.  
  • The information we require is:
    • the title(s) of the position(s), and
    • the closing date(s) for applications or expressions of interest, and
    • a Word or PDF document with more detailed information for applicants (ie, role description, etc) that can be attached to the CALC job advertisement, and
    • a link, where available to the role description if advertised online, and
    • contact email for applicants

Please email your job requests to the CALC Secretary

Contract Drafting:

If you available to perform contract drafting, you are welcome to submit a short bio and attach a CV to the CALC Employment page.

Please email details to the CALC Secretary

CALC provides links to information about various courses and training in legislative drafting.

View training page

Services

For more details, please see the CALC Services Page.

Mon, 14/10/2024 - 17:23 -- Gillian Markham

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

Dear colleagues
Please see below from Alex Gordon, First Legislative Counsel, Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC) in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
More details are available on the CALC website here:
___________________________________________

Mon, 19/12/2022 - 09:17 -- opcit_admin

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

test please ignore
just kate, anil, and the ebusiness account are receiving these emails.

Mon, 19/12/2022 - 09:14 -- opcit_admin

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

test --please ignore

Fri, 16/12/2022 - 19:56 -- Kate Hannah

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

Dear CALC members

Having spoken with many members across all regions it is clear that there is strong enthusiasm for a return of CALC in-person gatherings and so I am very pleased to announce that plans are now in place to hold a series of CALC events over the next 18 months.

These will begin next year with the following events:

Fri, 16/12/2022 - 02:02 -- Kate Hannah

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

This is a test just to check the settings - please delete.

Tue, 22/11/2022 - 05:44 -- Kate Hannah

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

Dear CALC Members

The November 2022 edition of the CALC Newsletter is now available at https://calc.ngo/publications/newsletters (in PDF or Word).

Tue, 01/11/2022 - 02:08 -- Kate Hannah

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

Dear Calc Members

The October 2022 edition of the CALC Loophole is now available at https://calc.ngo/publications/loopholes (in PDF or Word).

Fri, 21/10/2022 - 09:36 -- opcit_admin

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

test again, please ignore

Fri, 21/10/2022 - 09:14 -- opcit_admin

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

test please ignore

Fri, 21/10/2022 - 09:07 -- opcit_admin

This is an automatic email from the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel.

Dear Calc members,
Apologies for the spam email. This is just the test for a new feature that we are introducing on the site. Please ignore or delete this email.
Kind Regards,

Pages

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Publications catalogue

Find papers and articles published in the Newsletter or Loophole.

View Publications catalogue

Forum

The forum is only available for registered and logged in members.

Drafting manuals and other resources

CALC provides links to online drafting manuals and other resources.

View Drafting manuals and other resources page

Training

CALC provides links to information about various courses and training in legislative drafting.

View training page