Conferentie 'Styles of Legislation' (en)

A conference on 17 and 18 December 2009 officially marks the emergence of the European Academy for Law and legislation as a knowledge and education institute for international legislative lawyers. The theme of the conference is 'Styles of Legislation'. The event will take place in the Peace Palace, in The Hague.

For two days, an international outline of renowned academics and professionals will touch on the traditions, languages and styles as a common frame of reference for legislation. Expert speakers from the European Union, OECD and a number of countries in and outside Europe, will offer a unique comparative perspective of styles of legislation: specificities reflecting the richness and diversity of legislative cultures.

The theme of the conference highlights the European Union as a union of many legal cultures and different languages. Virtually each of the Member States in the EU has its own legal-cultural identity that results in typical particularities regarding the style of domestic legislation (general setup of the corpus of legislation, the structure of acts and legislative instruments, the wording in which acts and instruments are drafted). These style features - to some extent - bear upon the implementation of EU legislation. They may prove to be helpful or - in contrast - impede implementation of EU law.

Amongst the subjects to be addressed are:

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  What are the distinct characteristics of EU legislation as regards the general setup of the EU's legislative corpus?
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  Are there (still too many) legislative silo's?
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  Is EU legislation well coordinated, and if not, what could be done to improve it?
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  Is EU legislation accessible for the general public (should it be?).
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  Do the demands of reaching compromises on the one hand and readability on the other leave enough room for balanced results?
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  What kind of an imprint does the reality of 20 plus languages leave on drafts?
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  What are the style features of national legislation?
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  What are the effects of poor accessibility to legislation?
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  How is overall access to legislation safeguarded? Both references to the management of stock of legislation.
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  Do legislative professionals receive specific training to prefect their drafting skills and techniques?
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  Are the civil law and continental style nearing one another under the influence of the EU-cooperation or not?
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  What traces do legal traditions leave in legislation?

All issues that bear a relation to `style of legislation'. Distinguished expert speakers from the OECD, European Union, some member states and countries outside Europe will look into these dynamics during the conference. Participants will be provided an exciting two day long overview.

Target audience: legislative professionals for national administrations, European institutions and international organizations.

Government policy makers, judges, counsel, revisers, legal (staff) officials, civil servants and students alike are very welcome to join the event.

The conference fee is € 100,-; students € 25,-. (NB: students of Montesquieu Institute affiliated organizations have free admission)

The programme is in development and will be updated frequently.

Please check the website. On-line registration for the event is open (www.eall.eu).

The European Academy for Law and Legislation provides post-academic training for legislative professionals employed in national administrations, parliaments, European institutions and international organizations, as well as consultancy on legislative issues. It aims to be a platform for the exchange of knowledge and experience, and to constitute a community of peers. On balance, the European Academy for Law and Legislation is creating a community of legislative professionals with a common frame of reference.