management of changes in legislative documents

Management of changes in legislative documents

Monica PalmiraniCIRSFID – University of Bologna, Law Faculty

Terminology – (1/3)

Act: an officially approved legislative document, endorsed by the proper authority (act, regulation, statue, subsidiary law, etc.)

Bill: any draft version of a planned Act during the legislative process

Amendment: an official document that proposes changes to a bill by proponent(s). The amendment needs to be applied to the bill to incorporate the modifications.

Consolidated Act: an Act incorporating modifications from one or more modifying document

Consolidated Bill: a bill that incorporates a number of proposed changes, possibly including multiple variants coming from different proponents

Amendment List: an official document that includes a number of amendments often, but not mandatorily, ready for discussion and vote.

Terminology – (2/3) Original version: document generated by the author at the

beginning of its lifecycle Modifying document : original document that contains

instructions to modify other documents Consolidated version: any document incorporating

modifications from one or more modifying document Versioning chain: all the versions of a specific document,

including the original one Amendment: a modifying document that proposes changes to a

bill, and not to an act/regulation/statute/etc. Modifying Act: a modifying document that generates changes

to enacted legislation/regulation/statute/etc. Amending Bill: a bill amending an existing law. An amending

bill will become a Amending Act once enacted. An amending bill has no effect on the addressed Act until it is turned into an Amending Act.

Modifying: for the existing and enacted law Amending: for the legal drafting process

References

http://www.apkn.org/lrp/guidelines/guidelines http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/navigation?file=help/helpGl

ossary&lang=en http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/techleg/pdf/en.pdf http://www.opc.gov.au/calc/docs/Loophole_papers/Horn

_Mar2005.pdf http://www.doj.gov.hk/eng/public/pdf/2012/Drafting_boo

ke.PDF http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/legal_service/consolida_en.htm

….. And plenty of others existing legislative drafting

manuals

Very Specific and Local Terminology - (3/3)

“Consolidated Amendment” (from the EU Parliament) is a consolidated bill

“Engrossed Bill” (from USA) is a bill with amendments applied and voted by the authority

etc.

Terminology - (2/3) Normative chain: all the documents that

have modified a specific document

Document

Time line

t0 tnti ti+1 tn+1t1 t2

….A0 A1 A2 Ai Ai+1 An-1 An….

M0 M1 Mn-1…. ….

Set of Modifications

Mj

Mk

activeMods

passiveMods

Four approaches to express amendments to bills

Four approaches to express amendments: A. Declarative approach B. Table approach C. Redlining approach D. Oral amendments

All these methodologies produce changes applicable to a bill and producing a new consolidated version of it

9 scenarios are presented

A. declarative approach: Senate of Italy

ORIGINAL DOCUMENTSIGNED

http://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/commissioni/comm05/3396emendamenti.pdf


19.5FLERESAll'articolo 19 apportare le seguenti modificazioni:a) al comma 1, lettera a), aggiungere i seguenti punti:"m) gestione dell'ambiente e del territorio;n) gestione dei beni e dei servizi culturali di

competenza";b) al comma 1, lettera a) punto b) sostituire le parole:

"di ambito comunale" con le seguenti: "di competenza comunale".

Conseguentemente al comma 1, lettera b), primo periodo, dopo le parole: «ad esclusione della lettera l)» aggiungere le seguenti: «e delle lettere m) ed n)»

http://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/frame.jsp?tipodoc=Emend&leg=16&id=673246&idoggetto=697760http://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/frame.jsp?tipodoc=Emend&leg=16&id=674528&idoggetto=697760

DIGITAL DOCUMENT

activeModsto BILL

activeModsto BILL

activeModsto BILL


ORIGINAL DOCUMENTSIGNED and CHANGED MANUALLY

SCENARIO 1Amendment to a bill

an official document that proposes changes to a bill by proponent(s).

Scenario 1: amendment to a bill

Bill n. 4 Amendment to the bill n. 4

“substitute <<France>> with <<Greece>>” The application of the amendment

document to the Bill n. 4 produces a new version of the Bill (Consolidated Bill)

Amendment includes ActiveMods to the Bill

Consolidated Bill includes PassiveMods to the Amendment(s)

Scenario 1: amendment to a bill

….

<section id="sec25"> <num>25</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> Section 3</ref> shall

be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText

id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>

</ quotedText >“</mod></content></section>

BILL 4@

activeModsto BILL4

<section id="sec25“

period=“t1”> <num>25 </num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref>Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by the

following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece </p>


BILL 4@v1 CONSOLIDATED BILL

<point id=“pnt1"> <num>1</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> </ref> shall be replaced

by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece </p>


AMENDMENTpassiveMods

Consoldiated bill: incorporation of the amendments

passiveMods

SCENARIO 2Amending bill

a bill amending an existing law. An amending bill will become a Amending

Act once enacted

Amending bill

activeMods to the ACT

Scenario 2: Amending billTime line

…. ….<section id="sec25"> <num>25</num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref id="ref2" href="/ak/act/2010-02-

20/100/main#sec3">Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by

the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-

qtd1"> <p>France </p>


ACT 100

<section id="sec3“ start="e2"> <num>3. </num><content> <p>Italy </p></content></section>

BILL 4@


SCENARIO 3Simulation of the Consolidated Act

An act that incorporates a number of proposed changes, possibly

including multiple variants coming from different proponents

This document is purely an information

Scenario 3: Simulation of the Consolidated Act

Some time it is useful to produce a Simulation of the Consolidated Act in order to present the final result of the modifications proposed.

The Simulation of the Consolidated Act is just an informative document

The Simulation of the Consolidated Act incorporates the modifications proposed by the Amending bill

The Amending Bill includes ActiveMods to the Act The Simulation of the Consolidated Act includes

PassiveMods to the Amending Bill

Scenario 3: simulation of consolidation to an Act

….….

<section id="sec25"> <num>1. </num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref id="ref2" href="/eu/act/2010-02-

20/100/main#sec3">Article 3</ref> shall be replaced by


qtd1"> <p>France </p>


ACT 100

<section id="sec3“ start="e2"> <num>3. </num><content> <p>Italy </p></content></section>

….

<section id="sec3“ start="e2“ period=“#t1”> <num>3. </num><content> <p>France </p></content></section>

SIMULATION OF CONSOLIDATED ACT

ACT 100@v1BILL 4@

passiveMods


SCENARIO 4Amendment to the Amending Bill

Amendment Amending Bill

Act

modification

future modification

Scenario 4: amendment to the Amending bill

….



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@ACT 100

<section id="sec3“ start="e2"> <num>3. </num><content>

<p>Italy </p></content></section>

activeModsto BILL4





<p>Greece </p>


BILL 4@v1

<point id=“pnt1"> <num>1</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> </ref> shall be replaced

by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece </p>

</ quotedText >“</mod></content></point>

AMENDMENTpassiveMods


SCENARIO 5Tabular Amendment

B. Tabular approach: EU Parliamentprefacepreface

amendmentBodyamendmentBody

amendmentContentamendmentContent

amendmentHeadingamendmentHeading

affectedDocumentaffectedDocument

amendmentReferenceamendmentReference

amendmentJustificationamendmentJustification

newnewoldold

langlang

activeMods to the bill

Scenario 5: tabular amendment

….



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@

activeModsto BILL4





<p>Greece </p>


CONSOLIDATED BILL 4@v1

AMENDMENT

passiveMods

<point id=“pnt1"> <num>1</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref>SECTION 25 </ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


<point id=“pnt1"> <num>1</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> SECTION 25</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece </p>


old new

SCENARIO 6Consolidated amendment

“Consolidated Amendment”JURI_AM(2012)483680_EN consolidated amendment.doc

Scenario 6: so called “Consolidated amendment”



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@

activeModsto BILL4

<section id="sec25“period=“t1”> <num>25 </num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref>Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France</p></ quotedText >“</mod>

</content></section>

CONSOLIDATED BILLBILL 4@Vx

<point id=“pnt1"> <num>1</num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref> SECTION 25A</ref> shall be

replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece</p></ quotedText >“</mod>

</content></point>

AMENDMENT#1

passiveMods

<section id="sec25A“period=“t1”> <num>25 </num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref>Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-

qtd1"> <p>Greece</p></ quotedText >“</mod>

</content></section><section id="sec26A“period=“t1”> <num>25 </num><content><mod id="mod1">

<ref>Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-

qtd1"> <p>German</p></ quotedText >“</mod>



<ref> SECTION 26</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “

<quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>German</p></ quotedText >“</mod>

</content></point>

AMENDMENT#2

SCENARIO 7Redlining Amendment

C. redlining approach : California bill

passiveMods

The passive modifications in the redlining method are reflexive on the billDestination is the bill itself

Scenario 7: so called “Redlining Bill”



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@ BILL 4@v1

BILL 4@v2

<section id="sec25"> <num>25</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by


qtd1"> <p>France</p>

<p>Greece </p>



the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France</p>

<p>German </p>


passiveMods

passiveMods

The passive modifications in the redlining method are reflexive on the bill

In this scenario the two versions are concurrent but they can be done following a temporal sequence

author-B

author-A

Scenario 7: so called “Redlining Bill”



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@

BILL 4@v1 BILL 4@v2



qtd1"> <p>France</p>

<p>Greece </p>



the following: “ <quotedText id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece</p>

<p>German </p>


passiveModspassiveMods

author-Aauthor-A

SCENARIO 8Engrossed Bill

C. redlining approach : Florida bill

passiveModsThe Assembly approves only one proposal of BILL and it becomes Engrossed Bill

Scenario 8: so called “Engrossed Bill”



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>France </p>


BILL 4@

CONSOLIDATED BILLEngrossed BILL 4@Vx

passiveMods

<section id="sec25-v2“ period=“#t2”> <num>25 </num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref>Section 3</ref> shall be replaced

by the following: “ <quotedText

id="mod1-qtd1"> <p>German</p></ quotedText >“</mod>


The Assembly approves only one proposal of BILL and it becomes Engrossed Bill

PROPOSAL BILL 4@variant1

PROPOSALBILL 4@variant2



id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>Greece </p>




id="mod1-qtd1">

<p>German </p>


passiveModspassiveMods

SCENARIO 9Oral Amendment

D. Oral Amendmentsin Debates

newnew

oldold langlang

Mozambique

Scenario 9: Oral amendment

…. ….

BILL4@VxDebate

<section id="sec25"> <num>25</num><content><mod id="mod1"><ref> Section 3</ref> shall be replaced by the following: “

<quotedText id="mod1-qtd1"> <p>Greece

</p></ quotedText >“</mod>



<ref>SECTION 25 </ref> shall be replaced by the following: “ <quotedText

id="mod1-qtd1"> <p>Greece

</p></ quotedText >“</mod>

</content></point>

passiveMods

activeModsto BILL4

New Requirements

Proposal of new tags

Add new type of changes on the structure: join two hcontainer, split one in two hcontainer, move one structure

Add @incomplete to <source>, <destination>, <old>, <new>

Add @placement: before/after/beginning/end/between/ in the textual changes ( related to the quotedText)

Add new tag for caputring the “ or «» or “ inside of the quotedText or quotedStructure

management of changes in legislative documents

Documents

amending bill

amending act

consolidated act

official document

lifecyclemodifying document

planned act

addressed act

proper authority act