CHIEF DIRECTORATE: STATE LAW ADVISORY SERVICES
Internship with the Indiana University School of Law
Candidates who complete the Legislative Drafting Certificate Course satisfactorily, may be considered for an Internship Programme with the Indiana University School of Law.
For further details about this Programme and an on-line application form, click on the link below:
Indiana University School
of Law
The September/ October (Fall) 2003 Internship in the USA
The Provincial Chief State Law Advisor (Adv Jacques Wolmarans) attended the Fall 2003 Internship Programme. A short report on the Internship Programme appears below.
The internship, arranged and sponsored by the Indiana State Legislative Services Agency, Indiana University and their South African partners (the University of Pretoria and RAU) was a valuable experience for myself and the other interns from South Africa (Mr Michael Mahlangu, Legal Advisor: Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature; Ms Harriet Mekwa, Legal Administration Officer: Department of Housing (National); and Ms Carene Wessels (State Law Advisor: Department of the Premier, North-West Province)).
The object of the internship was not to teach the interns how to draft in the American style, but to share information on best practices to enable the interns to become better legal drafters in South Africa through empowerment and international exposure. The majority of time during the internship was spent at the offices of the Indiana State Legislative Services Agency in the State Capitol in the centre of Indianapolis.
The Indiana State Capitol (centre), flanked by the Indiana State Seal (left) and the Indiana State Flag (right)
The CEO of the Legislative Services Agency, Mr Philip Sachtleben (known to all as "Satch"), took a personal interest in the programme and had many valuable exchanges with the interns.
"Satch" in the centre with, from left to right, Jacques Wolmarans, Harriet Mekwa, Carene Wessels and Michael Mahlangu
Other staff of the agency (notably Ms Sarah Freeman and Mr Andy Hedges) assisted on a daily basis to make the learning experience more meaningful.
Andy Hedges and Sarah Freeman, attorneys attached to the Indiana State Legislative Services Agency
The Indiana State Legislative Drafting Manual was studied and statutes from South Africa, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and California critically evaluated in working groups comprising the interns and staff of the Legislative Services Agency.
We, as interns, also attended law lectures at both the Indianapolis and Bloomington campuses of the Law School of the Indiana State University and met with the respective deans (Dean Grove and Dean Tarr).
The Indiana University School of Law offers a Master of Laws (LLM) Programme for Foreign Lawyers. Holders of this degree are permitted to sit for bar examinations in 10 USA jurisdictions. The 10 States that allow graduates to take their bar examination are: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The interns participated in interesting and informative field trips to Frankfort, Kentucky and Chicago, Illinois and we met, and had discussions with, drafters from these other states.
The State Capitol, Frankfort, Kentucky
We were privileged to meet with, amongst others, several Indiana Supreme Court and Appeal Court judges (Justices Boehm, Hamilton, Flaum and Kanne), and we attended some oral arguments in the Indiana Supreme Court.
The Indiana Supreme Court
The American legal system and law-making procedure is rather unique and interesting. Contrary to South Africa, most legislation is initiated not by the executive, but by individual legislators (elected members of the legislature) who seem to be hounded by lobbyists for various causes. Over 2 000 Bills are drafted in a session in Indiana, but much fewer are introduced and eventually passed – each Bill must be passed by both the upper and lower houses (the Senate and the General Assembly) and it can happen that each house passes a different version of the Bill! A nightmare when it comes to reconciling and interpreting the law! But controls and systems have evolved to address these issues.
It was interesting to note that all laws passed are codified (in a State Code of Law) to enhance accessibility and that most new legislation does not deal with ground-breaking new issues of principle, but tend only to amend or repeal the existing provisions of the Code. After the Rationalisation of Laws process has been completed in KwaZulu-Natal, the feasibility of codifying the laws applicable in the Province may be investigated and possible technical assistance may be sourced from the Indiana State Legislative Agency. I broached this matter with the CEO of the Indiana State Legislative Agency (Mr Philip Sachtleben) and he was amenable to the principle of the Legislative Services Agency participating in such an exercise.
A further highlight of the internship was the home-stay concept. The various interns were placed with local families for the duration of the internship, not only to contain costs of accommodation, but to expose interns to American culture and daily life. I stayed with Richard and Carole Darst who have hosted students from South Africa on previous occasions. Richard is a practising attorney who specialises in civil rights and discrimination cases and his wife, Carole, is active in the community and has a keen interest in African art which adorns their home.
Carole and Richard Darst
The total experience was overwhelmingly positive. I will draw from the lessons learned, the exposure and the contacts and friendships made with people in another hemisphere grappling with similar issues of legislative drafting and expressing the will of the legislature clearly in laws which will ultimately impact the lives of the people governed.
Indiana "collage"