School of Law and Social Science

Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting

Programme Code:
PDLD
Study Level:
Duration:
1.5 Years Full Time, 2 Years Part Time

Programme Overview


Admission Requirements

The Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting is a two-semester programme designed for the novice as well as for the seasoned drafter to acquire knowledge in the art and science of legislative drafting.
The aim of the programme is to introduce the participants in a progressive manner to the legislative drafting process.
Emphasis will be laid on the syntax and training will involve the linking of sentences into meaningful units.
The training will involve the drafting of statutes and regulations including amendments and penal provisions.
The students will acquire skills through ‘hands-on’ practice.
Special Admission Requirements:
i) Have obtained the degree of Bachelor of Laws (LLB) of The University of the South Pacific, or
ii) Have obtained from some other recognised tertiary institution a qualification deemed by Senate or its delegate to be equivalent to the requirements set out in a), or
iii) Have obtained a professional qualification deemed by Senate or its delegate to be equivalent to the requirements set out in a) above, or
iv) In exceptional cases, have demonstrated experience or achievement Senate or its delegate deems sufficient.

Courses

LWD11, LWD12, LWD13, LWD14, LWD15, LWD16, LWD17.

Programme Requirements

a) The Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting consists of seven courses.
b) The programme of study is a distance tuition programme of study extending over a period of not less than two semesters.
c) There are no final examinations for the programme. The performance of students shall be assessed entirely by coursework, which shall include written assignments and a drafting workshop. The assignments contribute 60% and the drafting workshop contributes 40% of the total assessment for the programme.
d) In order to be eligible to receive the Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting, a student must prove his or her competency in each and every element of each of the courses.
e) Performance in each of the courses shall be acknowledged by the awarding of the following grades:
‘Pass’ meaning ‘Pass or Competent’
‘IP’ meaning ‘In Progress’
‘Fail’ meaning ‘Fail or Not Competent’
A provisional grade of IP (meaning ‘In progress’) shall be awarded where a student is given an extension of time by the Academic Programmes Committee to complete any work on which assessment for the course is based. Any extension of time may only be up to the last day of lectures of the following semester specified in The University Handbook and Calendar.
The provisional grade of IP shall be replaced by an appropriate grade based on the work submitted by a student by the end of the extended period.
Where a student has been given a Fail grade, the maximum number of attempts allowed for the programme is two, comprising a first attempt followed by a second attempt if not successful. The decision to permit a third attempt at the programme shall rest with the Chair of the Academic Programmes Committee.

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