Conference Timetable

When and where everything happened

Last updated on 13 October 2026

The Conference Timetable was last updated on 13 July 2026. Please click on the presentation and panel titles for the speakers’ bios and abstracts. Video recordings and slides are available at the Members’ Area (opens in new tab) of the CALC website.

A PDF version of the Conference Timetable is also available here [432.10 KB] (opens in new tab).

Day 1: 15 July 2026 (Wednesday)

Day programme: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (Ballroom)

Time	Event
08:30	Registration
09:00	Opening Remarks by President of CALC, Justice Johnson Okello Welcome Remarks by Attorney-General of Singapore, Mr Lucien Wong SC Keynote Address by Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, Singapore, Mr Edwin Tong SC
10:00	📷 Conference photo-taking
10.30	🍵 Morning break
10:50	Panel: Law Reform Agencies and the role of Legislative Drafting (opens in new tab) Anthony North KC and Professor Penney Lewis Chair: Matthew Jolley
11:20	Panel: Drafting and the art of negotiation in a changing world (opens in new tab) Phil Chessum, Michelle Daley and Aleksander Hynna Chair: Natalie Plumstead
12:05	Perspectives across the Commonwealth Professional Ethics and the Legislative Drafter: A Ghanaian Perspective (opens in new tab) — Heidi-Marie Boakye Legislating in a changing office (opens in new tab) — Lucy Marsh-Smith Chair: Felicity !Owoses
12:50	🍽️ Lunch
13:40	Delivering legislative programmes Drafting legislation in a rapidly evolving political and legal landscape: how to deliver effective bills in a fast-paced world (opens in new tab) — Jessica de Mounteney Leveraging data for effective management of the legislative pipeline (opens in new tab) — Richard Wallace Chair: Dame Brenda King
14:40	Legislative definitions Legislative definitions and the penumbra of words (opens in new tab) — James Adutt, Jane Irving and Alex Lo Can a tiger be a pet? The Australian approach to interpreting defined terms in statute (opens in new tab) — Rebecca Scott Chair: Eamonn Moran PSM KC SBS
15:40	🍵 Afternoon break
16:00	Panel: Use of AI in Drafting Offices (opens in new tab) Arina Joanisse, Angela Beck, Andy Neale, Alice Harrison-Needham, James Adutt and Chong Kah Wei Chair: Jeanne Lee
17:00	End of Day 1 academic programme

Evening programme: Welcome Reception at Supreme Court Terrace, Level 4M, National Gallery Singapore

Time

Event

18:00-
20:30

Welcome Reception for Delegates and Guests

Welcome remarks by Deputy Attorney-General of Singapore, Mr Lionel Yee SC, at 18:30
Drinks served from 18:00; live food stations start after Welcome Remarks and end at 20:15

Three people cycle along a paved walkway in front of a large, classical building with columns and a domed roof. The building has a grand staircase leading up to its entrance. Palm trees line the walkway, and a modern skyscraper is visible in the background.

The National Gallery Singapore along St. Andrew’s Road, with the Central Business District in the background

Day 2: 16 July 2026 (Thursday)

Day programme: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore

Time	Events
Time	Breakout room 1: Ballroom	Breakout room 2: Boardroom	Breakout room 3: EDB Room
09:00	Plain language Laws and Plain Language: the state of play, 40 years on (opens in new tab) — Ben Piper Operationalizing Legislative Quality: A comparative analysis of drafting techniques used in Barbados, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand (opens in new tab) — Shaquille K Newton The Development of Plain Language Drafting Culture: Australia, Canada and New Zealand (opens in new tab) (video recording) — Archie Zariski Chair: Michelle Daley	New Ways of Working: Technology and Collaboration (opens in new tab) — Daniel Baird, Pasha Peyrovi and Nina Ding Chair: Andy Neale	[Blank]
09:30		Annotated Statutes and Statutory Dictionary: Upcoming features in Singapore’s LawNet (opens in new tab) — Mark Fisher, Michelle Chua and Alvaro Vigil Chair: Andy Neale	Drafting in the Disruption: Regulating the Legal Profession in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (opens in new tab) — Ricardo Bates-Sealy Chair: Craig Rosario
10:00		Updating what we tell ourselves about “the legislative sentence” for the AI age (opens in new tab) — Matthew Waddington Chair: Lucy Marsh-Smith	Legislating the Conditions for Digital Criminal Procedure in a Changing World (opens in new tab) — Ning Jia Chair: Don Colagiuri SC
10:30	🍵 Morning break
10:50	Working with external rules Interpretation and Enforcement of Australian Standards in NSW (opens in new tab) — Byron Clugston Drafting for Implementation: Ensuring Model Laws Translate into Effective Domestic Legislation (opens in new tab) — Susan Jarvis Soft Law, Hard Consequences: Supersession, erosion, and the legislative drafter as constitutional navigator (opens in new tab) — Liness Chikankheni Chair: Dr Katy Le Roy	Statutory interpretation Default Interpretive Rules in a Changing World (opens in new tab) — Ross Pey Plain Language and the Readability Trap (opens in new tab) — Benjamin Minhao Chen Chair: Owi Beng Ki	Regulating as a Global Activity — State of Play and Trends (opens in new tab) — Manfred Kohler Chair: Rehema Katuga
11:20			Legislative Reform to Foster a Sustainable Orbital Launch Industry (opens in new tab) — Mason Stott Chair: Lee Yean-Lin
11:50		What to except when you're excepting: drafting exceptions to offences (opens in new tab) — Ben Fraser Chair: Andrew Jones	The Landscape of Legislative Drafting: Expanding the Drafter’s Role in an Authoritarian Age (opens in new tab) — David Marcello Chair: Stanley Kok
12:20	🍽️ Lunch
13:10	Delegation Primary v. secondary legislation: balancing democratic accountability and legislative agility (opens in new tab) — Lydia Clapinska and Alex Lo A South African Update: The Delegation of Plenary Legislative Power and the Need for Executive Flexibility (opens in new tab) — Heinrich Muller Facilitating the delegation of statutory powers: is there a role for an Interpretation Act? (opens in new tab) — Eamonn Moran PSM KC SBS Chair: Aleksander Hynna	Backbench legislation Private members’ Bills and the statute book (opens in new tab) — Byron Clugston and Michael Mendel AI as the Great Equaliser: Restoring Legislative Agency in Post-Colonial Parliaments — The Punjab Assembly Case (opens in new tab) — Usama Khawar and Malik Taimour Ahmad Khan Chair: Charlie Feldman	Evidence-Based Lawmaking: Thailand’s Legislative Drafting Act and Comparative Insights from the Commonwealth (opens in new tab) — Kiratipong Naewmalee Chair: Joyce Chao
13:40			Traversing the Reforms and the Future Legislation of International Investment Law for Treaty Arbitration (opens in new tab) — Dr Sanya Yadav Chair: Lee Chuan Huei
14:10		Parliaments and procedure What does Parliament want to see in a bill? Exploring Canadian printing requirements (opens in new tab) — Charlie Feldman Parliamentary sovereignty, separation of powers and the legislative process (opens in new tab) — Saira Salimi Chair: Tay Li Hang	Editing for Legislative Resilience: Transferable Cross Disciplinary Editorial Skills to Strengthen Legislative Drafts (opens in new tab) — Tara Smith Chair: Lucy Marsh-Smith
14:40	Drafting to Criminalise Misogyny (opens in new tab) — Genevieve Parke Chair: Dylan Hughes		Consolidation Acts: do we still need them? (opens in new tab) — James George Chair: Richard Hughes
15:10	Working draft(er)s: a conversation about early career drafting (opens in new tab) — Liz Larbalestier and Isaac Mok Chair: Ben Fraser	Fireside chat: The leadership challenges of running a drafting office (opens in new tab) — Jessica de Mounteney and Andy Beattie	[Blank]
15:40	🍵 Afternoon break
16:00	End of Day 2 academic programme
16:00- 17:30	[Blank]	CALC General Meeting (CALC members only)	[Blank]

Evening programme: Gala Dinner at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (Ballroom)

Time

Event

18:00-
late

Gala Dinner for Delegates and Guests

Drinks, Singapore snacks and game stalls from 18:00
Delegates and guests to be seated by 19:00

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore is illuminated at night, with a fountain in the foreground. The hotel is a large, multi-story building with many windows and lights. The fountain shoots water high into the air, lit with a golden glow. The water reflects the lights of the hotel and the city. The water is dark and still.

A nightly light and water show near The Fullerton Hotel Singapore

Day 3: 17 July 2026 (Friday)

Day programme: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore (Ballroom)

Time	Event
09:00	Designing and drafting legislation to support digital decision-making: What is possible? What is appropriate? (opens in new tab) — David Goddard KC Chair: Peter Quiggin KC
09:45	How to train a drafter? (opens in new tab) — Alice Harrison-Needham and Lydia Clapinska
10:15	🍵 Morning break
10:45	Singapore’s legislative philosophy through the lens of public housing (opens in new tab) — Seow Zhixiang Chair: Andy Beattie
11:15	Drafting and technology Legislative Drafting for a World Transformed by Technology & Social Media (opens in new tab) — Charles Lim Aeng Cheng Who Serves as the Drafter in an AI-Generated World? A Case Study of Alberta’s Whisky Act (opens in new tab) — Benjamyn McKay Chair: Kerri Sinclair
12:15	Closing Remarks by Incoming CALC President Closing Remarks by Chief Legislative Counsel, AGC Singapore
12:40	🍽️ Lunch
13:30	End of Day 3 academic programme

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore by the Esplanade Bridge, adorned with bougainvilleas in full bloom