Legislative Drafting Manual

Part (s)* 
Part One, Part Two, etc… 
Title(s) 
Title One, Title Two, etc… 
Chapter(s) 
Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc… 
Section(s) 
Section One, Section Two, etc... 
*NOTE:-For bigger compilation of laws such as Codes a drafter can use even a 
higher division to be labeled as “Book”.
Therefore, a drafter is highly recommended to adopt the above standardized and 
conventional way of designation. 
d. As a rule, all Parts, Titles, Chapters, Sections, Sub-Sections, and Articles 
should have their own titles that must be in line with the legislative intent of 
each particular division or provision.
e. In drafting Articles, a drafter should take into consideration the following 
points:-
i. 
Provisions not directly related to each other should not be drafted in 
the same article.
ii. 
As an exception to the rule that directly related provisions should be 
drafted together in one article, if the provisions are too numerous, 
then it is advisable to split the text in to separate articles.
iii. 
In spite of the fact that the articles are re-grouped into higher 
divisions (i.e. Parts, Titles, Chapters, etc…), they should be however 
numbered consecutively.
f. Sub-divisions of Articles into paragraphs or sub-paragraphs is suggested to 
be as follows:-
Article-
X: “Title”
www.abyssinialaw.com

---

21 
1. xxxxxxxxxxxxx
(a)yyyyyyyyyyyyy
(i)zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
EXAMPLE: 
(From Excise Tax Proclamation No. 307/2002, Art. 6)
“6. Payment of Excise Tax
1. The Excise tax shall be paid in the time prescribed under sub-
article (20 of this Article:
(a) in respect of goods produced locally by the producer.”
g. Given the existing drafting style, the following order and arrangement of a 
law is recommended for legislative drafting in Ethiopia:-
i. 
Title
ii. 
Preamble (Recital)
iii. 
Citation & Enacting Clause
iv. 
Short-title
v. 
Definitions
vi. 
Scope, Exceptions, Exclusions
vii. 
Substantive Provisions
viii. 
Administrative & Procedural Provisions
ix. 
Penalties & Sanctions
x. 
Repeals
xi. 
Transitional Provisions (Saving Clause)
xii. 
Effective Date
xiii. 
Closing Formula
A drafter should avoid an organization that requires an understanding of a later 
section in order to understand an earlier section of a law.