Objective
In most developing, transitional, and post-conflict countries, inherited political, legal and socio-economic institutions perpetuate wide-spread inequality, poverty, and instability. The Distance Course on Legislative Drafting for Democratic Social Change equips lawmakers, government officials and civil society participants to legislatively reform the institutions that perpetuate underdevelopment and poor governance.

Problem-Solving Theory and Methodology
The Distance Course follows the problem-solving legislative drafting methodology. The problem-solving methodology was developed by Professors Ann and Robert Seidman, and international colleagues, on the basis of several decades of experience working with law-makers from more than thirty countries. This methodology is founded on the observation that only laws based on country-specific facts, and addressing specific behaviors, are effective in transforming the institutions that cause poverty, vulnerability and poor governance. The problem-solving methodology guides drafters to abandon ineffective legislative programs, and results in the drafting of bills that enable and compel people to act in the desired manner.

What Distance Course participants do
Each course participant drafts a bill addressing an important social problem facing his/her country and an accompanying a research report to demonstrate, on well-grounded, logically-structured, country-specific evidence, that the bill’s detailed provisions will prove effectively implemented and will achieve the desired social impact. The process of drafting a bill and an accompanying report gives participants an opportunity to learn legislative drafting methodology and techniques by ‘doing’ drafting.

The Distance Course provides experience:

• identifying a social problem ripe for legislative resolution, and defining that problem in narrow, concrete terms focusing on who is doing what that is causing the harm;
• identifying the reasons why an individual or group engages in socially undesirable behaviors;
• formulating legislation that addresses the causes of social problems;
• drafting detailed, effectively implementable legislation; and
• anaylzing legislative proposals for completeness, clarity, and probable effect.

Materials
As weekly course assignments, participants draft sections of their proposed bill and research report according to a structured outline. They also complete drafting exercises, and to provide feedback to classmates on their legislative proposals. The course materials include the manual, Seidman, Seidman and Abeyesekera, LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING FOR DEMOCRATIC SOCIAL CHANGE – A MANUAL FOR DRAFTERS (Kluwer, 2000); 28 hours worth of lectures, and two study guides to accompany the lectures, one for preparing the research report, the other for drafting the bill’s detailed provisions.

Tuition
You can participate in the Distance Course either as an individual, or as a member of a drafting group. The tuition for this four-month course totals $2000 for an individual, or $5,000 for a group. The tuition covers the costs of the course Manual, 28 hours worth of lectures, two digital study guides, honorarium for the course director and for an editor who will provide one-on-one guidance to the drafter throughout the term, and overhead. Course registation is considered complete upon receipt of tuition. (Please note if you need to pay by installment on your course application.)

Outcomes
By providing course participants with large quantities of feedback from highly trained editors, we have largely avoided the attrition problems faced by most distance courses. Not only do high percentages of participants complete the course, but they frequently maintain ties with ICLAD after the course ends. Some past Distance Course facilitators, such as Rob Horricks and Mahmoud Sabra, now serve as Distance Course Editors, Country Contacts and approved workshop facilitators. In other cases, participation in the Distance Course constitutes an important step in developing on-going, locally-run programs to strengthen legislative research and drafting efforts. For example, drafters from Pakistan have participated in the 2004, 2006 and 2007 sessions of the Distance Course, and will have completed 14 research reports and bills in conjunction with this course by the end of this summer. Several of these course participants have expressed an interest in using course materials as teaching tools in classes for university students, government drafters, and members of civil society; and some are already working with local universities and PLSP to develop on-going, in-country programs.