Week 6

Lesson objectives for this week

Last week you drafted the explanations part of your research report on the causes of the primary role occupants’ problematic behaviors. This week’s lesson focuses on drafting that part of your research report that explains the problematic behaviors of the officials responsible for implementing the bill. Once again, the ROCCIPI factors are used to generate explanatory hypotheses – this time about problematic behaviors of the implementing agencies as well as the individual officials within those agencies. An implementing agency is an institution charged with the responsibility of implementing the necessary measures to induce the primary role occupants to behave as the bill prescribes.

A bill may have one or more than one implementing agency. Depending on the nature of the bill, its implementation may be carried out by a dispute resolution system, an administration process, or both. If the bill’s implementation is concerned solely with dispute resolution the drafter may rely on the present court system to carry out this function unless the research suggests that a specialized body, such as a labour board or a human rights tribunal, is required.

Implementing officials’ problematic behaviors mainly consist of making inappropriate decisions. The process of decision-making, (figure 5-1 of the Manual at p. 131) may be viewed as three sub-processes:   an input process, a conversion process, and a feedback process. Together these processes determine the decisions – the outputs.

The Stream B objectives this week are:

1. To learn how to draft for the what. The what refers to the behavior a legislative sentence prescribes for its actor.

2. To learn rules for stating the case, condition and exception in a legislative sentence.

3. To learn two useful techniques to ensure your bill doesn’t omit anything.

Once again Chapter 9 of the Manual provides the foundation reading for the stream B exercises.

Assignments

•Read Manual, Part II, Chapter 5 (pp. 125-166); and re-read Part III, Chapter 9.
•Listen to tapes A-7, B-5.
• E-mail to your editor and to the course participants:

• your draft ‘Explanations’ Part of your research report on the causes of implementing agencies’ behaviors that contribute to the difficulty your bill aims to help resolve; and
• two additional draft sections or sentences from your bill. If possible, try to find a section or sentence which commands, another that prohibits, a third that grants permission to its addressee. Indicate where in your bill these sections will appear. Make sure they prove consistent with the other sections that you have drafted; if necessary, amend those other sections.

•Discuss in your group the answers to the general questions, Study Guide, session A-7, slides #10 & 11. (Also see the Study Guide, session B-5.)
• E-mail to your both editor and to the course participants:

• comments, questions or suggestions you may have about materials covered in the audio-presentations, the Manual or the Study Guide; &
• answers to general questions raised in the Study Guide.