Programme Learning Outcome

1. Knowledge and understanding

-At the end of the programme, students should be able to:

-Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theory behind professional skills acquired during the programme;

-The principle objectives for which drafters should work   and   the   fundamental practices that are most likely to contribute to achieving them;

-Know the concepts and terminology related to legislation and legislative drafting;

-Know research techniques to analyse problems;

-Know   the different roles and   duties of legislative drafters, and   the relationship towards policy makers;

-Know  the  various types  of legislative instruments  in  use  in  Rwanda and  the  East African  Community member states,  and  related rules  and  conventions, as  well  as other  international instruments.

2. Cognitive/Intellectual skills/Application of Knowledge

At the end of the programme, students should be able to:

-Identify the major steps in the legislative drafting process;

-Recognize actual drafter professional responsibility;

-Relate with policy makers;

-Translate social problems into legislation;

-Identify and use various sources for research;

-Implement the basic legislative drafting requirements;

-Follow and apply fundamental principles and rules of legislative drafting;

-Draft legislation in plain language, and consistent in terminology, usage and style;

-Identify the general principles of statutory interpretation;

-Identify the applicability of international instruments, and interpret its meaning for Rwanda;

-Apply the rules and principles of good governance;

3. Communication/ICT/Numeracy/Analytic Techniques/Practical Skills

At the end of the programme, students should be able to:

-Describe the legislative process in Rwanda, and the different roles of drafters in the different governmental institutions;

-Communicate with clients in a manner that is tactful, diplomatic and effective;

-Assess social and financial costs of legislation

-Use technology for effective legislative research;

-Write draft legislation or legislative provisions;

-Demonstrate (basic) proficiency in computer skills;

-Organise legislative provisions into a coherent and structured law;

-Explain    to   clients   the   general principles of   statutory interpretation, and   the consequences in practice;

-Explain to clients and other various aspects of international instruments.

4. General transferable skills

At the end of the programme, students should be able to:

-Distinguish between the role of a legislative drafter and the role of the policymaker;

-Distinguish between legal drafting and legislative drafting;

-Work effectively and competently, even under pressure time or other pressures.

-Identify and use different available research tools;

-Lay  out  the  fundamentals of Rwandan and  East  African  Community law  as  they relate  to drafting;

-Build on prior legal knowledge and experience, in both a legislative and Rwandan context.

-Apply knowledge of Rwandan law to new circumstances and legislative situations.

-Apply the  basic  principles of  legislative syntax   and   expression to  the  writing  of legislative sentences, and  select,  compose, and  combine the  components of simple legislative sentences.

-Conduct online and library-based legal research;

-Write and edit draft legislation using clear and consistent legislative language and stylistic methods;

-Draft or edit a legislative document that is well organized and structured.

-Draft and prepare legislation that   takes   into account the principles of statutory interpretation in order to anticipates and avoid potential problems of interpretation.

-Draft and prepare   legislation that    takes    into    account   the   rules and other considerations applicable to, or as a result   of, international instruments to which Rwanda is a party.

-Take into account the drafter’s responsibility when carrying out public duties with respect to draft legislation.