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The Department of Justice today (October 9) announced the appointment of Mr Eamonn Patrick Aquinas Moran, QC, as the Law Draftsman, the head of the Law Drafting Division of the Department of Justice.
Mr Moran was selected for the position through an open recruitment exercise. He will assume duty in January, 2008.
In welcoming Mr Moran's appointment, the Secretary for Justice, Mr Wong Yan Lung, SC, said Mr Moran was a highly respected legislative draftsman with sound professional experience and outstanding leadership.
"He commands high respect in the legislative drafting field. I am sure he will bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the Department of Justice. I very much look forward to working with him," Mr Wong said.
The Law Draftsman post is ranked at Law Officer (DL6) level. The Law Draftsman is responsible for overseeing the drafting of all government legislation and advising on complex and sensitive legal issues identified in the course of developing draft legislation.
A brief biographical note on Mr Moran is set out below:
Mr Eamonn Moran, 55, was called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 1975 and admitted as Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Australia in 1977. He was appointed Queen¡¦s Counsel in 1998 and awarded the Australian Public Service Medal in 2005 for his outstanding public service to legislative drafting and public law, and to the promotion of plain legal language in Australia.
Mr Moran has 32 years of experience in all aspects of the drafting of legislation, gained both in Australia and in Northern Ireland. He has been the Chief Parliamentary Counsel in Victoria, Australia, since 1999. He also has long-standing experience in teaching and presenting on legislative drafting and statutory interpretation. In Australia he has served on a number of advisory committees and has been a Part-time Commissioner of the Law Reform Commission of Victoria. He was elected as President of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Counsel at the meeting of the association held in conjunction with the Commonwealth Law Conference in September.
Mr Moran has widely written and lectured on various aspects of legislative drafting.
He is married with three children.
Ends/Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:00
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