Legal and Constitutional Affairs Ministry Strengthening Legislative Policy Development

The Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs is taking steps to strengthen capacity in legislative policy development.

As part of the effort, the Ministry will be looking to engage the Management Institute for National Development (MIND) for the training of legislative teams within the various ministries.

Acting Permanent Secretary, Wayne O. Robertson, said there will also be collaboration with the Office of the Cabinet to conduct sensitisation sessions through the Policy Analysts’ Network (PAN), which comprises policy officers representing their various ministries.

The Ministry also intends to convene a meeting with the Permanent Secretary/Financial Secretary or the appropriate designate in each ministry, during the third quarter of each financial year.

Mr. Robertson said that the meeting will help “determine the achievable legislative agenda for the year. At the end of each legislative year, the MLCA will evaluate the legislative process to determine progress, strengths, weaknesses, and lessons learnt. Data gathered will facilitate adjustments prior to the commencement of the next legislative year”.

The Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs was established to take charge of and give focused attention to the Government’s legislative agenda and legal and constitutional reform aspirations.

It will determine the extent of the advice and technical support to be provided to the ministries.

This will have regard to whether legislation is being proposed for an area for which no law previously existed and the nature and extent of the proposed reform; the far-reaching impact of the proposed reform; whether the proposed reform touches and concerns another Ministry’s portfolio; and the extent of the Ministry’s in-house legal support.

Other critical considerations include whether the area of the law requires specialised expertise and the priority that should be attached to the project compared to other ongoing or potential projects, having regard to the legislative agenda.