RE : OPEN DEMOCRACY BILL, 1988
Your letter to the Chief Justice under reference 3/15/15/2 (HMS) and dated 31 July, 1988, has been referred to me for attention. The Chief Justice is at the moment overseas and I have not had an opportunity to discuss my comments with him.
I have been involved in the assessment of previous drafts of the Open Democracy Bill on several occasions. In general, I have been critical of the Bill.
The latest version is, however, a welcome improvement on the earlier drafts. I have no substantive criticisms. I still cannot get used to the term "whistle-blowers" in the heading of chapter 5, but I accept that this word, perhaps better than any other term I can think of, will convey to the lay public what the legislature’s intention is.