Department Of Legal Drafting

The Legal Drafting Department is one of the Professional Departments in the 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. 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 Governor of the Nasarawa State to the State 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 State  Gazette;
Drafting and processing of the publication of the Instruments of Appointment of:
i. Judicial Officers, Court of Appeal, the Federal and State High Courts,
ii. Liaison with the Legislative Department of the State Assembly on matters’ relating to the Executive Bills before the 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 State and the Solicitor-General of the State and Permanent Secretary;
iv. Representing the HAGF, SGF/PS and the State 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 Policies of the Government of Nasarawa State 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 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.

Contact: jamesemmanuelarigu@nsmoj.com