Uneasy road - Senate passage of act without draftsman guidance is dangerous

 The Senate on Friday passed the Jamaica International Financial Services Authority Act, which is aimed at helping to create the environment to promote Jamaica as an offshore international centre.

The efficacy of the Act is something on which we will reserve comment. Instead, it is the manner in which it was pushed through the Senate that leaves The Gavel most uncomfortable.

We have become accustomed to bills leaving the House of Representatives going to the Senate being the subject of not only intense review but also several amendments.

However, last Friday was an aberration with regard to amendments. This was not as a result of government and opposition embracing the bill as being clean and ready for the Governor General's assent. Instead, it was because there was no draftsman in the Senate to assist with the amendment.

Opposition Senator Mark Golding, known for the meticulous approach to his legislative duties, was in the process of suggesting an amendment to the bill when Leader of Government Business Dorothy Lightbourne stopped short of saying he is wasting his time.

"We have no draftsman here, I dont think we should get into it," she duly informed the Senate.

IMPORTANCE OF DRAFTSMEN

The draftsman is without a doubt a very important person on the legislative front. Besides the drafting of principal legislation as well as amendments of existing legislation, drafting and revision of subsidiary legislation in order to facilitate the successful implementation of the Government's legislative programme, the draftsman should at all times give advice on the how amendments of bills and laws may be done.

The fact that the Jamaica International Financial Services Authority Act is not as major as constitutional amendments or even the crime bills should not be a licence for sloppy work. Similarly, the fact that there may have been pre-legislative scrutiny does not excuse or justify the absence of draftsmen when the bill is being considered by legislators.

Let us recognise that even though a few lawyers sit in the Senate, the members are predominantly politicians whose approach to amending bills may be susceptible to partisanship.

Despite many of these legislators having a strong grasp of the underlying realities of that which they are legislating, it is really the draftsmen who are best able to determine the way language is used and the manner in which amendments are done to legislation being considered.

We cannot say definitively whether Friday was the first time that draftsmen were absent from Parliament when they were needed but we hope it is the last time.

It is the view of The Gavel that we must, at all costs; avoid creating situations which could lead to serious shortcomings both in terms of conception and in terms of drafting as it could end up affecting the country's legislative framework.

Send feedback: Thegavel@gleanerjm.com.