COURS SUR LE “LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING”—SATISH FAUGOO: « Un texte de loi clair est lié à l’État de droit »

L’Attorney General Satish Faugoo a plaidé hier matin pour la présentation de textes de loi rédigés de manière limpide. Pour lui, il est un fait que des lois claires sont inextricablement liées au respect du concept de l’État de droit et à la démocratie, voire même à l’aboutissement des plans d’investissements, et donc au développement économique. Le ministre est intervenu dans le cadre de la cérémonie de lancement d’un cours sur le “legislative drafting”, animé par le Pr Vincent Grabbe, lequel s’était déjà prêté à l’exercice chez nous en 2010.
Satish Faugoo a notamment déclaré : « It stands to reason that in order for legislation to be better understood and to be implemented correctly and efficiently, it is essential to ensure that it is well-drafted. Consequently, legislation must be drawn up in an intelligible and consistent manner, in accordance with uniform principles of drafting and presentation, so that people can identify their rights and obligations and the courts can enforce the laws. The rule of law would be better respected if laws are clear, simple and consistent with principles of good legislative drafting. Potential users of legislation must be able to understand legislation in order to enable them to engage in fruitful discussion of the content of the legislation before and after the enactment. Further, the intention of Parliament must be readily recognised when construing enactments. Clear legislation is inextricably linked to the rule of law and to democracy but it may also have a positive impact on investment in our jurisdiction since end users will be able to interpret legislation and foresee how it will be applied by judges and administrators and this will undoubtedly help them to plan their investments with serenity, thereby encouraging economic growth. »
Citant un article rédigé par Victor Glover, publié dans le magazine Loophole – et intitulé “Legislative Drafting in Mauritius” – le ministre a estimé que : « Mauritius is a small jurisdiction and it has been the practice since long for the Judges of our Supreme Court not to be recruited from the Bar but appointed by promotion of Magistrates or of law officers from the Attorney General’s Office. This has meant that legislative counsel who have undergone training at considerable expense to the State have little scope for making a career in the field but, after a few years, move to the Bench when a vacancy occurs there. It is worth nothing in this connection that, between 1993 and 2003, no fewer than 5 law officers held office as Parliamentary Counsel, of whom 3 were subsequently appointed as Judges of the Supreme Court… Besides, the 3 law officers who hold office as Parliamentary Counsel and Assistant Parliamentary Counsel are required to give assistance by performing other duties such as giving advice to Ministries and Government Departments, appearing in Court cases involving public bodies and attending conferences in Mauritius and abroad. Thus, the time they are able to devote to the business of legislative drafting, revision, updating and research is perforce rather limited. »
Parmi les participants à cette formation, on compte non seulement des personnes venant du judiciaire, mais aussi du bureau du DPP, du ministère des Finances et de celui de la Navigation, de la Financial Services Commission ainsi que des fonctionnaires nouvellement recrutés au bureau de l’Attorney General.
Le Pr Crabbe est né en octobre 1929 à Accra, au Ghana. Après des études tertiaires en Grande-Bretagne, il a occupé plusieurs fonctions dans son pays, tout en apportant une contribution active chez des voisins. A titre d’exemple, il a ainsi aidé divers pays du continent africain dans la rédaction de leurs constitutions respectives.

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