Coming up

Australasian PCC/CALC 2025 Regional Drafting Conference: 26-28 February 2025

**REGISTRATIONS CLOSED**

The Western Australian Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is delighted to invite you to the Australasian Parliamentary Counsel’s Committee PCC/CALC 2025 Regional Drafting Conference.

When: The conference will take place at Beaumonde on the Point, Perth, Western Australia and run over 3 days from 26 to 28 February 2025.

More info: Conference details are available on the official Conference Invitation.

QUERIES:

If you have any questions, please contact the WA Parliamentary Counsel's conference team at conference@pco.wa.gov.au

---

 

International Legislative Drafting Institute in New Orleans: 9-20 June 2025

The Public Law Center at Tulane Law School will host the 30th Anniversary of its International Legislative Drafting Institute in 2025.

When: 9 - 20 June 2025

Where: New Orleans

More info: Visit the Institute's website, and complete the no-cost registration to be kept informed about developments leading up to the next session: https://law.tulane.edu/international-legislative-drafting-institute 

Contact: Email tplc@tulane.edu for more information.

Accommodation: Participants and speakers will be housed at one of New Orleans' newest hotels. Located in the heart of the Central Business District only three blocks from the French Quarter, the Marriott Residence Inn is an all-suites hotel with a full kitchen in each room. The hotel offers a very favorable daily rate of $119, and dual occupancy is permitted at no additional cost.

Details:

• Link to register: https://law.tulane.edu/register-online 
• More than 800 graduates from 100+ jurisdictions have attended the Institute since its inception in 1995. Each participant receives a copy of the International Legislative Drafting Guidebook (2020) published by Carolina Academic Press.
• Tuition discounts are available for groups of 6 or more; delegations numbering 11 or more members receive a further tuition discount.

 

---

Past events

The Regional Law Revision Centre – Consolidation of Laws Programme in Anguilla

When: 6-8 November 2024

Where: Anguilla

More info: see the course website, which also has links to the programme and registration form.

 

iLegis 2024 - The International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform

Where: Washington DC, USA When: 24 & 25 October 2024 More info: Keep an eye on https://www.ilegis.org/ for more information (you can also subscribe to get email updates).

 

CIAJ Legislative Drafting Conference: 16-18 September 2024

Where: Ottawa, Canada and online When: 16-18 September 2024 More info: See speakers, program and how to register for online or in-person on the Conference website.

---

CALC general meeting

There will be a general meeting of CALC on 14 May 2024, at the Conference in Trelawny, Jamaica.

CALC Council is proposing special resolutions to amend the Constitution - see the conference page (requires Member login) for:

• the resolutions,
• a marked up version of the Constitution showing the proposed changes, and
• an explanatory note about the purpose and effect of the resolutions.

The nomination periods to be on the next CALC Council have closed and some nominees are now taken to be elected under Rule 3 of the CALC Election Rules.

Electronic voting closed on 29 April for the special resolutions and where needed for positions on the Council.

You can see who nominated and who is taken to be elected in the conference page (requires Member login).

Please make sure your email and membership details are up to date. To update them, see How to update details and reset password.

---

CALC JAMAICA CONFERENCE 2024 – registration

 

CALC will meet again in Jamaica at the Ocean Eden Bay Hotel in Trelawny, Jamaica, from Monday 13 to Wednesday 15 May 2024.

CALC’s celebration of our 40th year concludes with our first full in-person Conference in 5 years. Following our hugely successful regional events held throughout 2023 in Europe, the Asia-Pacific and Africa, the next full CALC Conference will be held in the Americas region with a long overdue return to the Caribbean.

CALC members from every jurisdiction are invited and encouraged to attend and participate in a conference that will provide 3 days of learning, collaboration and networking opportunities at a gathering with colleagues from across the Commonwealth and beyond.  

Delegates coming to Jamaica will also be able to experience the vibrant culture, thrilling adventures, breathtaking beaches and irresistible flavours of the local cuisine. If the vibes you crave are for regulations or reggae, or perhaps a bit of both, this conference will meet your expectations.

The conference is in-person only.

Registration

You can register for the conference here: REGISTER FOR CALC JAMAICA 2024.

The conference fee is $595 USD. This fee covers all days of the Conference, and the Gala Dinner on 14 May. There is an ‘early bird’ registration fee of $525 USD available for bookings and payments made by 29 February.

Delegates wishing to bring a guest to the Gala Dinner will be able to do so for $75 USD.

We strongly encourage members to register and book accommodation as early as possible. 

The initial registration closing date of 26 April 2024 has passed but we are leaving it open for a few more days. However, because the initial date has passed, hotel accommodation and travel arrangements do not come with any guarantees and delegates are responsible for their own arrangements.

The conference fee is on the basis that delegates are staying at the Ocean Eden Bay Hotel (see below), which is an all-inclusive hotel. If delegates are not staying at the Ocean Eden Bay (or its sibling Hotel, the Ocean Coral Spring), a supplement of $95 USD is payable directly to the Ocean Eden Bay for each day at the conference venue.

If you have problems arranging payment online, please contact the CALC Treasurer, Annalee Murphy, at annalee.murphy@gov.scot.

Accommodation and other information

The Ocean Eden Bay is an all-inclusive hotel (that is, it includes meals and many activities). CALC had negotiated special rates for delegates booking accommodation (a link is included in the registration confirmation). However, because the initial registration period has ended, CALC cannot guarantee that rooms or room types are still available or available at the special rates.

Further information about the conference, including information on travel and visas, is available in the Delegate Information (updated as at 16 February). Registered delegates will also have access to an updated document about conference arrangements.

Call for Papers

The call for papers closed on 15 March. Thank you to everyone who suggested papers on the Conference theme: “CALC at 40 - common challenges past, present and future”.

General meeting of CALC

As provided in CALC’s constitution, there will also be an ordinary general meeting of CALC at the conference in Jamaica, on 14 May.

Formal notice of the meeting has been given, and additional information has been circulated about nominating for positions on the next CALC Council, proposing motions for special resolutions and voting.

---

Commonwealth Cybercrime Journal - 2nd volume - call for papers

Not a conference, but a call for papers by the Commonwealth Secretariat for the second volume of the Commonwealth Cybercrime Journal (CCJ).

The CCJ is a peer reviewed journal featuring policy-influencing articles and commentary by academics, policymakers, practitioners and experts on the benefits, challenges, and risks of digital technologies.

See the full details in the call for papers, including dates and editorial information.

The first volume is also available: Commonwealth Cybercrime Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1

---

CALC Africa Conference 2023 - registration closing soon!

“The Future of Legislative Drafting in Africa – What lies ahead?”

When: 23-25 October 2023

Where: The Sarova Whitesands Hotel, Mombasa, Kenya

The Conference is being hosted by the Parliament of Kenya and the Office of the Attorney General for Kenya. 

The conference fee is $250 USD. This covers all days of the Conference, and a Gala dinner on 24 October. The guest fee, for the Gala dinner only, is $50 USD.

You can register to attend the Conference here: REGISTER FOR CALC AFRICA 2023

Registration closes on Friday 6 October. Please register promptly so conference bookings can be finalised. If you have problems arranging payment online, please contact the CALC Treasurer, Annalee Murphy, at annalee.murphy@gov.scot.

Further information about the conference, including information on accommodation, travel and visas, is available here: Delegate Information.

Call for Papers

We are still receiving submissions for Conference papers. The Conference theme is “The Future of Legislative Drafting in Africa – What lies ahead?”.

We would especially welcome papers on matters of particular interest to drafters working in African jurisdictions. Papers should be relatively short, with successful submissions for individual presentations likely to have a slot of 20 minutes at the conference. Papers could alternatively suggest delivery of workshops or panel sessions.

If you wish to submit a paper, please send a 100 word abstract, and a short biography, to Dr Johnson Okello at okothokello@yahoo.co.uk and cc johnson.okello@parliament.go.ke, with the subject line “Submission for CALC Africa Conference”.

The closing date for submissions is Monday 25 September 2023.

---

Plain Language Association International (PLAIN) biennial conference

When: 27-29 September 2023

Where: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Includes:

• special Clarity track on Day 1 of the conference:  The Clarity Sessions.
• because it is being hosted at a law school, additional law-related sessions.

Clarity members get a discount for this conference.

Website with registration pages and further details at the Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires.

---

Australasian PCC / CALC Asia-Pacific conference - 2-4 August 2023

The NSW Parliamentary Counsel’s Office is pleased to invite you to the 2023 Australasian PCC / CALC Asia-Pacific Legislative Drafting Conference.

The conference will take place at The Mint, Sydney and run over two and a half days, Wednesday 2 August – Friday 4 August 2023.

Links to register for the Conference are below. Note that there is a special registration link for CALC members in Pacific Islands for whom PCO NSW will very kindly cover the Conference and dinner fees.

To assist in finalising conference arrangements, it would be appreciated if you could register by Friday 16 June. Partners are welcome to join.

Please complete one online registration per person (plus partners) to assist with reporting and venue/restaurant lists.

• General Registration for CALC Members

• Registration for CALC Members in Pacific Islands

CALL FOR PAPERS:  if you are interested in speaking at this conference, we ask that you return your completed speaker submission form to ea@pco.nsw.gov.au by Friday 16 June.

Hybrid AI for Legislation: from theoretical model to empirical use-cases

When: 24 July 2023, 12-1 pm (Ottawa time)

Where: University of Ottawa and online on Zoom

See the poster for more details and the link to register.

---

LegisTech: Artificial Intelligence in Parliaments

Run by Bússola Tech

Where: Online

When: 6 July 2023 - please see the event details for your local time zone.

More information and timings: LinkedIn event post

---

 

International Legislative Drafting Institute

Run by The Public Law Center at Tulane Law School.

Training specifically designed for legislative drafters and for the members of legislative bodies.

Where: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

When: 12-23 June 2023

For details go to https://law.tulane.edu/international-legislative-drafting-institute.

Delegations may qualify for discounts, and provision can be made for non-English speaking delegations.

LegisTech Asia and Pacific | 2nd Edition

Run by Bússola Tech

Where: Online

When: 15-16 June 2023 - please see the event details for your local time zone.

More information and timings: LinkedIn event post

Artificial Intelligence and Legislation: Where Do We Go from Here?

Co-hosted by iLegis and Penn Carey Law of the University of Pennsylvania

Where: Online

When: Jun 15, 2023 at 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

How to register: go to the information page.

Statute Law Society Lectures at UCL

Online recordings are available of events 2021-23 at University College London, including Dame Elizabeth Gardiner on "Improving the Statute Book: A Legislative Drafter's Viewpoint": Statute Law Society events.

CALC Europe conference - 24-25 May 2023

This year the CALC European regional conference will be held in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales.

The 2-day conference will take place on 24 and 25 May 2023 at the Principality Stadium.

The conference fee is £240 GBP ($289 USD). This covers both days of the conference, including food and drink, and dinner in the Coal Exchange Hotel on 24 May. The guest fee, for dinner in the Coal Exchange Hotel only, is £62 GBP ($75 USD).

A provisional programme is available: CALC Cardiff Conference Programme (also on the conference website).

Further information about the conference, the venue, travel and hotel information, is available on this website: Home - CALC Cardiff 2023. Registration is open until 9 May and the form to register is here: http://eepurl.com/ihKw7r.

Once you have successfully registered you will receive an online welcome pack as well as instructions regarding payment. We look forward to welcoming you to Cardiff!

Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies Conference 2023

CALC members are warmly invited to the next Conference of the Commonwealth Association of Law Reform Agencies (CALRAs).

The Conference will be in Goa, India on Saturday 4 March 2023. It will be a one day conference, held at the Sala de Banquete, the Cidade de Goa Hotel, Goa.

The Conference will provide an opportunity for law reformers to meet in person again, and reflect on the work and future of CALRAs, and discuss practical issues for law reform.

CALRAs is hosting and paying for this conference, so on this occasion there is no conference fee. Delegates will be responsible for arranging and paying for their own travel and accommodation.

All interested in law reform are very welcome to attend. The Conference is equally open to members of CALRAs and to non-members, and from the Commonwealth and elsewhere.

The CALRAs Conference will be held just before the Commonwealth Law Conference (CLC) which is taking place from 5th to 9th March. The CLC website (www.clc-goa2023.com) gives details of the CLC’s programme, and information about hotel accommodation for the CLC (at Registration/Accommodation).

If you wish to attend the CALRAs event, please register interest directly with CALRAs General Secretary Malcolm McMillan - E.mail: malcolm.mcmillan@gov.scot

Commonwealth Law Conference 2023

"Commonwealth Lawyers - Common challenges in uncommon times"

Where: Goa, India

When: 5-9 March 2023

For details go to https://www.clc-goa2023.com/.

Drafting legislation: the theory and the reality - Dame Elizabeth Gardiner

Where: Edinburgh, Usha Kashera Lecture Theater, Old College, The University of Edinburgh

When: 30 March 2023, 5.30-7.30 pm

Registration is free but required. For details go to the event page.

Statute Law Society: Against the Clock: Time Pressure and the Constitution

When: 8 February 2023, 6pm (UK time) Where: UCL Faculty of Laws (in-person and online) Dr Hannah White OBE Director of the Institute for Government For more information, click here.

Constitutional Kōrero 2022

A one in 10 year conference to look at constitutional transformation, Constitutional Kōrero 2022 has the objective to “bring international thought-leaders on constitutions and Indigenous peoples together with Aotearoa-based thought-leaders to generate transformative, practical and robust options for constitutional transformation in Aotearoa”.

21-23 November 2022, in person or online.

www.constitutionalkorero.co.nz

Colloquium on Parliamentary Accountability: Call for papers

Where: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

When: Dates to be confirmed in Fall 2022.

Deadline for the call for papers: 1 August 2022. For the call for papers, click here.

iLegis 2022 - The International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform

   Where: Washington DC, USA

   When: 3 & 4 November 2022

   To register and for details of costs, go to the conference registration page.

 

 

 

 

Statute Law Society: 2022 Lord Renton Lecture: 9 November 2022

Dame Elizabeth Gardiner DCB QC (Hon), First Parliamentary Counsel (OPC UK), will deliver the 2022 Annual Lord Renton Lecture.Date and time: 9 November 2022, 6pm (UK time).For more information, click here.

2022 IAL Palermo Conference: 14-15 October 2022

The IAL Conference 2022 will try to set the parameters for this research looking at other disciplines, such as law and linguistics that may help legislative drafter who wants to know how a piece of legislation has performed and the extent to which its goals have been achieved. The conference is expected to be held virtually and on-site at the University of Palermo. The programme will be posted in due course. For more information, click here.

Book your place

CIAJ Legislative Drafting Conference: 8-9 September 2022

The biennial Legislative Drafting Conference (in person in Ottawa and online) will tackle the most important challenges in modern legislation. The conference will include a wide range of speakers from Canada, the UK and beyond.

For more information, click here.

Statute Law Society: Independent Review of Administrative Law: 14 July 2022

The Rt Hon The Lord Faulks QC will discuss the report of the Independent Review of Administrative Law.

Lord Faulks was Chair of the Panel which was disbanded in January 2021 following the submission of their report to Government.

Date: Thursday, 14 July 2022 -  6 – 7pm (UK time)

Venue:  Online or in person at UCL Faculty of Law, Bentham House, 4-8 Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG

Cost:  This event is free to attend

Registration will open shortly. For more information, click here.

Drafting Workshop, 28-29 June 2022

The UWI is hosting a Legislative Drafting Workshop to be facilitated by Mrs. Jonetta Jeet Ramsahai scheduled for 28-29 June 2022. A fee is charged to attend. 

For ease, note the steps below to register and attend:

1.      Register via the link: https://forms.gle/TdeinfCf4CpZgj5f9

2.      Pay the fee (provided for online via the options laid out in the registration form),

3.      Submit proof of payment to law@sta.uwi.edu (wire transfer receipt)

4.      The virtual link will then be provided to attend. 

Webinar on Legislatures in Times of Crisis -- Ukraine -- 16 June 2022

The organizers of the Seventh International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform cordially invite you to attend a free, not-to-be missed legislative webinar hosted in cooperation with the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and USAID.

Join us to learn how the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine has operated during the Russia-Ukraine war.

The webinar will feature two speakers from the Verkhovna Rada, followed by a question and answer session.

Time: Thursday, June 16  
10:00 – 11:30 AM EDT
(5:00 – 6:30 PM Eastern European Summer Time) 

To register for the webinar, click here. 

What goes where? ALRC webinar 24 May 2022

A comparative discussion of the legislative puzzle -- As the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) moves forward with its current inquiry into the simplification of corporations and financial services legislation, it is turning its attention to regulatory design and the hierarchy of laws. Relevant questions include: How should the statutory and regulatory framework be designed to support complex areas such as financial services? Where should the law be located to achieve coherence and navigability? If the law needs detail to function, whose job should it be to provide it? Join the ALRC as it hosts a panel of international experts from Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, and the UK to discuss these and related issues.

TUESDAY 24 MAY 2022 AT 4.30PM AEST
2.30PM AWST, HKT, SGT | 6.30PM NZST | 7.30AM BST

For a flyer, click here.

To register for this free webinar, click here.

Statute Law Society Lecture, 11 May 2022

Wednesday 11 May 2022 at 6pm, GMT, hosted by UCL Faculty of Laws
 

Determining the Matter: Statutory Interpretation and Devolved Legislation -- The Supreme Court's recent decision in the Rights of the Child Reference [2021] UKSC 42, on the lawfulness of the Scottish Parliament's bill to incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law, raises important questions about the construction of both devolved legislation and Westminster legislation. 

Speaker: Denis Edwards, Barrister. Formerly Lecturer in Law, University of Strathclyde and Assistant Professor of Law, City University, Hong Kong. Vice Chair of the Statute Law Society. Attendance: Tickets to attend in-person at UCL Laws (Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EG) are limited for this event. Options are available to attend online via zoom. Please choose the correct ticket when making your booking.

Statute Law Society event -- Annual Lord Renton Lecture, 25 November 2021, 6pm UK time 

What makes good statute law: a judge's view
Speaker: Lady Arden of Heswall, Justice of the Supreme Court
chaired by The Hon Mr Justice Garnham, Chairman of the Statute Law Society

An on-demand recording of this lecture is available at this link:

Statute Law Society Annual Lord Renton Lecture - YouTube

Bicontinental Perspectives on Legislative Drafting 

October 21-22, 2021 | Washington, D.C. 

The organizers for the Seventh International Conference on Legislation and Law Reform cordially invite you to attend two free, not-to-be missed legislative drafting webinars hosted in cooperation with the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

These two webinars feature renowned experts on legislative drafting, who were invited to speak at the planned, in-person legislative conference, which was unavoidably postponed until 2022, due to the ongoing pandemic.

On demand recordings of 2 webinars in the iLegis and Penn Law series Bicontinental Perspectives on Legislative Drafting are available at these links:

• The Ethics and Politics of Legislative Drafting - YouTube
• Legislation as an Interdisciplinary Challenge Using Environmental Law as an Example - YouTube

Recording of Rule of Law and Subordinate Legislation Webinar, 29 September 2021 

Time: 29 September 2021, 6-7 pm (UK time)

Speaker: Sir Jonathan Jones, KCB QC, former HM Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Services.

Recording: https://vimeo.com/showcase/8885191 

Paper: click here.

Cancellation of CALC Conference 2021 – Bahamas July 2021

CALC's Council has decided to cancel the 2021 CALC Conference that was to be held in the Bahamas in July 2021.

For more details, see Geoff Lawn's CALC President's report in the December 2020 CALC Newsletter at the Newsletters page.