Keyes on the Evolution of Legislative Drafting Style in English

John Mark Keyes, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, has published Evolution of Legislative Drafting Style in English. Here is the abstract.

This paper reviews the evolution of legislative drafting style in English beginning in the Middle Ages in England through to modern reforms adopted by the national drafting offices of Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It concludes there is remarkable similarity in the styles adopted by these offices with the exception of some of the more debatable techniques proposed to enhance the readability of legislation.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.