A Barbadian attorney who has secured a historic seat on the Commonwealth legislative drafters’ body is already targeting the country’s shortage of legislative drafters.
Shaquille Newton was elected earlier this month as the Americas’ representative at the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel’s (CALC) full conference and general election in Singapore.
His election came alongside that of Jamaican attorney-at-law Michelle Daley, who was elected president of CALC, the first Caribbean national to hold that position, giving the region a stronger voice in the leadership of the Commonwealth’s professional association for legislative drafters.
Newton, a senior legal adviser with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) on the US-UK criminal justice reform project, said his elevation is of major significance for Barbados, as he is now well placed to develop initiatives to address the shortage of legislative drafters.
“[This election] gives Barbados the opportunity to contribute more to the dialogue on the rule of law because the association as an accredited institution of the Commonwealth has direct feedback in things such as the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference,” said Newton, a former parliamentary counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers, where he drafted numerous pieces of legislation and contributed to law reform initiatives.
He told Barbados TODAY: “We have quite a bit of influence in the rule of law matters. Collaboration and sharing… the objectives of the organisation… and especially in this field, where there are so few of us, there is a dearth of legislative drafters. It’s all about capacity-building as well.
“There is a shortage…it is my goal, as Americas’ representative, to embark on initiatives to help build capacity in legislative drafting,” he disclosed.
He believes his election as a Barbadian, to the governing body of CALC for the first time in its 42-year history is significant, particularly as a small island developing state such as Barbados can now help shape legislative drafting among larger nations.
“I think the victory is quite meaningful in the sense that these are persons from smaller jurisdictions, as compared to larger jurisdictions such as the UK and Australia and Canada, who are now at the forefront of leading the organisation. It would now be interesting to see what persons from smaller jurisdictions with a whole set of different challenges, as opposed to bigger jurisdictions, bring to bear in the leadership of the organisation.”
Regional observers said the milestone will raise the profile of Caribbean legal drafting expertise and create more opportunities for mentorship and collaboration.
CALC promotes cooperation and knowledge-sharing among legislative counsel across the Commonwealth, encourages high standards of drafting, and supports mentorship, training and law reform in member jurisdictions.
During his campaign, Newton called for greater unity among legislative drafters across the Americas and pledged to expand mentorship and professional development opportunities for young drafters, which he described as essential to building sustainable drafting capacity across the Commonwealth.
Upon being declared the Americas’ representative, Newton thanked CALC members for their confidence in him and said he looks forward to working with Daley and the council to strengthen collaboration across the Americas.
He paid tribute to retired Chief Justice Sir David Simmons and Deputy Chief Parliamentary Counsel Shawn Raine Belle for their mentorship, and thanked colleagues at the British High Commission in Barbados, including High Commissioner Simon Mustard, Deputy High Commissioner Charley Williams, and Criminal Justice Adviser Sirah Abraham for their support.
A 2021 Chevening Scholar, Newton holds a Master of Laws in Drafting Legislation, Regulation and Policy with Distinction from the University of London, a Master of Laws in Corporate and Commercial Law from The University of the West Indies, a Bachelor of Laws, a Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School, and a Certificate in the Consolidation of Laws from the Regional Law Revision Centre in Anguilla.
His writing on legislative drafting and law reform has appeared in publications including CALC’s journal The Loophole, and the European Journal of Law Reform.
In Singapore, he presented a paper titled Operationalising Legislative Quality: A Comparative Analysis of the Drafting Conventions of Barbados, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, examining how drafting techniques directly contribute to quality legislation.
(EJ)
