Legal drafting

The Legal Drafting Department is one of the Professional Departments in the Federal Ministry of Justice, The Department is as old as the Ministry and is charged with the primary function of drafting and vetting of Executive Bills and Statutory Instruments, drafting and processing of the publication of Instruments of Appointment of Judicial Officers and Senior Advocates of Nigeria etc. The Department is headed by a Director, supported by competent lawyers and a set of administrative support staff.

Mandate

The Legal Drafting Department is charged with the responsibilities for:
i. Drafting and vetting of Executive Bills for Presentation, by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the National Assembly;
ii. Drafting of Bills for the domestication of international conventions and treaties to which Nigeria is a party;
iii. Drafting of Statutory Instruments including Regulations, Orders and Government notices;
iv. Processing and ensuring the publication of Statutory Instruments in the Federal Gazette;
Drafting and processing of the publication of the Instruments of Appointment of:
i. Judicial Officers appointed to the Bench of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, the Federal and State High Courts, and Senior Advocates of Nigeria;
ii. Liaison with the Legislative Department of the National Assembly on matters’ relating to the Executive Bills before the National Assembly;
iii. Rendering advice on legislative matter interpretation of statutes and on any other matters assigned to the Department by the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and the Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary;
iv. Representing the HAGF, SGF/PS and the Federal Ministry of Inter-Ministerial and Technical Committees; and
v. Carrying out any ad-hoc assignment as may direct, from time to time, by the HAGF and SGF/PS.

Mission

Translation of National Policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria as articulated in the context democracy and the rule of law into action through drafting of Bills for enactment of effective and enforceable laws as well as Statutory Instruments within the overall mandate of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Vision

Enhancement of the quality and delivery of Statutory Instruments at the shortest time to give effect to the policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria within the context of democracy and the rule of law.

Action Plan

In implementing the Mission Statement, an Action Plan comprising of a set of strategies and activities to implement the Strategies has been prepared. Items in the Action plan include;
i. Specific target outputs and benchmarks to measure the achievements of the Action plan;
ii. Who will be responsible for the implementation of each activity
iii. The time frame for each activities; and
iv. The budgetary estimates of the activities in the Action Plan.

Details of Customers

Requests for draft bills and Statutory Instruments are directed to the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice who then forward same to the Department through the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary. Such requests come from the Presidency, Ministries and Agencies of the Federal Government.

Service Provision

Drafting instructions for draft bills and Statutory Instrument are promptly considered, further research in the area of request conducted, draft bills and Instruments are then prepared and vetted by superiors. The draft is then forwarded to the requesting Institution for further comments (if any). On receipt of such comments, the draft is then finalized

Service Delivery

Customers should expect
i. Prompt and courteous treatment.
ii. Adequate information on progress of work on their requests.
iii. Thorough research on areas or field of request.

Stakeholders Participation

The Legal Drafting Department of the Federal Ministry of Justice works in collaboration with the Presidency, other Ministries and Agencies of the Federation.