There is much good news on the legislative front. For example, the main headings in the New South Wales Local Government Act 1993 are:

Chapter 1—Preliminary

Chapter 2—What are the purposes of this Act?

Chapter 3—What is a council's charter?

Chapter 4—How can the community influence what a council does?

Chapter 5—What are a council's function?

Chapter 6—What are the service functions of a council?

The heading for Chapter 4 is my all-time favorite legislative heading "How can the community influence what a council does?" It's so inclusive and welcoming—even if the reader is unfamiliar with the law and legal processes. If they want to find out how to let their local council know what they think, the law welcomes them to the process.

When I quoted that heading to some lawyers working in community legal centers in Namibia, they were ecstatic (I'm not exaggerating) at the thought that legislation could be written like that. New South Wales is not alone in using question headings in legislation: Sweden does too.42 Other exciting developments in legislative drafting include the increasing use of graphic devices and examples.43

How wonderful it would be if more judges also strove to write in a way that enhances respect for the rule of law: not through gravitas, formality, and tradition but through accessibility, clarity, simplicity, and ease of use.

There is good news too in US government departments, many of which are engaged in major long-term projects to improve the clarity of their communications.44

42

Election Act (SFS 1997:157) Chapter 12.

43

See WORKING WITH OPC - A GUIDE FOR CLIENTS published by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, Commonwealth of Australia. The guide contains several examples of legislative tables, diagrams, flowcharts, and examples. It is downloadable at www.opc.gov.au/about/documents.htm

44

DR SUSAN KLEIMANN AND MELODEE MERCER Changing a Bureaucracy—One Paragraph at a Time CLARITY No. 43, at 26 (May 1999). DR ANNETTA CHEEK Plain language in the U.S. federal government, CLARITY No. 44, at 19 (December 1999). JOANNE LOCKE How the U.S. Federal government is convincing its employees to switch to plain language, CLARITY No 45 at 13 (December 2000).

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