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Guideline 14
The basic-units of an Act should not include provisions having a non-normative nature, or restating material already expressed in the same Act or in legal provisions already in force.
| 14.1. | The basic-units of an Act should consist of operative legal provisions, including those setting out the indications (such as the scope and definitions) necessary to understand and apply the Act correctly. They should not include ideological or political statements, nor non-binding recommendations. | |
| 14.2. | The basic-units of an Act should not repeat the title of the Act. Even when it is impossible to avoid using words forming part of the title of the particular Act (for example, in the provision which defines the subject matter and scope of the Act), there should be some added specifications when such words are used in the text. Otherwise, such provisions have no normative content and may, moreover, create confusion as to the rights and obligations established by the Act. | |
| 14.3. | The basic-units of an Act should not include provisions restating the same contents, by using similar or different words. Such repetitions are not only pointless but also dangerous, since the reader, in order to explain the duplication, will tend to assume that the two provisions have different meanings. | |
| 14.4. | The basic-units of an Act should not merely reproduce or paraphrase passages or sections of another Act. This is a pointless and potentially dangerous practice, producing uncertainty. For instance, the interpreter will have doubt on which provision to apply, or on whether a modification to one of the two provisions also impacts on the other. Moreover, any departure from the original wording may give the impression that a different result was intended, and even give rise to a sort of presumption to that effect. | |
