Teleiai Dr Lalotoa Mulitalo takes up advisory role in legislative drafting for the Solomon Islands
Former Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission, Teleiai Dr Lalotoa Mulitalo is now a Legislative Drafting Advisor for the Solomon Islands.
She has been engaged under the Australia-Solomon Islands Partnership for Justice (ASIPJ) Program for two years, as from January 2023.
Dr Mulitalo is part of a team of Expert Advisers engaged under the ASIPJ, selected for their expertise in this specialised area of lawmaking.
The team is working together in cross-cutting issues and areas of expertise on professional development, gender equality, disability and social inclusion, as well as monitoring, evaluation, and research.
Dr Mulitalo is attached to the Legislative Drafting Division of the Attorney-General’s Chambers that provides legislative drafting services to the Solomon Islands Government.
Her role is to provide support to the Legislative Drafting Division in carrying out its duties to draft and/or vet principal and subsidiary legislation.
She will also be providing mentoring and on-the-job training to legislative drafters to strengthen their capacities to carry out their drafting role and to improve the functioning of the Legislative Drafting Division.
During her two-year assignment in the Solomon Islands, Dr Mulitalo is expected to share her expertise in legislative drafting and provide relevant professional development training as well as produce a Drafting Manual.
This work is familiar to Dr Mulitalo who led and delivered the same for Samoa as the Executive Director of the Samoa Law Reform Commission (2017–2022) and as Parliamentary Counsel within the Office of the Attorney General (2005-2009).
Dr Mulitalo is the foremost expert in legislative drafting in the Pacific. She holds the following qualifications:
- Doctor of Philosophy Law (LLD), University of Queensland, 2013;
- Certificate in Legislative Drafting, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London, UK, 2006,
- Masters in Law (LLM), Australia National University, 2005;
- Professional Diploma in Legislative Drafting, University of the South Pacific, 2002;
- Professional Diploma in Legal Practice, USP, 2001;
- Bachelor of Laws (LLB), University of the South Pacific, 1999;
- Certificate in Law (University of the South Pacific, 1995)
- Bachelor of Arts (BA) (majoring in History Politics & English Literature), USP1992.
Dr Mulitalo is also a published author with several articles on various legal topics and a book published from her PhD thesis entitled Law Reform in Plural Societies.