Do Short Titles Matter? Surprising Insights from Westminster and Holyrood

Jones, Brian Christopher (2011) Do Short Titles Matter? Surprising Insights from Westminster and Holyrood. Parliamentary Affairs, 65 (2). pp. 448-462. ISSN 0031-2290

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Abstract

The note is based on an exploratory investigation into the importance of short bill titles in the Westminster and Scottish Parliaments. Given the dearth of research and the commonly innocuous nature of short titles throughout the years, such titles are not provided much significance in either jurisdiction, either from a bill drafting or legislative process perspective. Drawing on a small sample of interviewees close to both processes in Westminster and Holyrood, it is demonstrated that short titles do indeed matter for a variety of reasons. Many MPs, MSPs, bill drafters and government employees acknowledged that short titles: do not serve merely as referential points; are important in the lawmaking process; could assist in the passage of legislation from a bill to a law and that some short titles were written to manipulate or persuade individuals into favouring legislation. Although clearly in the minority, there were also legislators in both jurisdictions who stated that such titles affected them when voting on legislation.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Parliamentary Affairs following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Jones, Brian Christopher (2012) Do Short Titles Matter? Surprising Insights from Westminster and Holyrood. Parliamentary Affairs, 65 (2). pp. 448-462. ISSN 0031-2290 is available online at: http://pa.oxfordjournals.org/content/65/2/448.abstract?sid=4bc85e9c-d352-41c9-ada6-d6cd09f19232
Keywords:	Short Bill Titles, Legislative Drafting, Legislative Processes, Westminster Parliament, Scottish Parliament
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Business, Law and Criminology > School of Law and Criminology
Depositing User:	Brian Christopher Jones
Date Deposited:	02 Oct 2016 16:16
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2018 17:52
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/468

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