Difference between revisions of "Editorial Update/Annotation Conventions"

Revision as of 09:58, 16 November 2018

Introduction

Annotations are added to items of legislation on legislation.gov.uk to convey editorial information about that legislation. The principal use of annotations is to provide the legislative authority for any changes: to the text of legislation; to its meaning, scope or application; or to its in-force status.

The various types of annotation are listed below. Further detail is then given about the use of each annotation type, and the conventions for constructing those annotations in the editorial process.

Note on use of the term “commentary”: Within the editorial systems and supporting facilities, such as the Tables of Effect (ToEs), the term “commentary” is routinely used when referring to footnote annotations. This is a relic of old editorial jargon and is not descriptive of the annotations used on legislation.gov.uk or their purpose. In practice we are careful to avoid providing anything that could be described as “commentary”, except perhaps in the rare situation where an ‘Editorial Comment’ is needed (see ‘X-notes’ below). For this reason, the generic term “annotation” is used throughout this wiki, except when specifically referring to the wording of those editorial systems and facilities where the term “commentary” appears.

Annotation Type	Initial stands for	Heading used on website	Function
F-notes	Footnotes	Amendments (Textual)	Used for amendments (mainly insertions, substitutions and repeals) where there is authority to change the text.
C-notes	Crossnotes	Modifications etc. (not altering text)	Used for 'non-textual effects', by which the meaning, scope or application of an Act or provision, etc. is changed in some way, but without there being any authority to alter the text.
I-notes	In-force	Commencement information	Contains information about the coming into force of a provision.
E-notes	Extent	Extent information	Contains information about the geographic extent of the Act or relevant part of it.
P-notes	Power exercised	Subordinate legislation made	Where a provision of primary legislation confers power to make subordinate legislation this annotation may be used to cite any instruments made under that power.
M-notes	Marginal citations	Marginal citations	Mainly used to recite the year and number of an Act or instrument mentioned in the text.
X-notes	Caution!	Editorial information	Used sparingly to alert users to anything they may need to be aware of, usually some difficulty or uncertainty, in the text of a provision.

F-notes (Textual Amendments)

For the general principles relating to textual amendments, and a list of the main types of textual amendment, see Editorial Principles - Textual Amendments.

Structure of F-notes

The online editorial tools will automatically generate the annotations according to prescribed rules. However, it is important that you are aware of how the annotations are put together and what you should look out for when checking them during the update process.

The aim of the annotations is to give authority for the amendment and allow the user to link to the amending legislation. Every effect takes an annotation and these must be:

Accurate – as this is an official record published by the Government;

Specific – the annotations must be strictly structured according to the editorial conventions.

It might be helpful to consider the formation of annotations according to the column headings from Extended ToEs as we use their contents to create an annotation after completing an amendment.

Amended Provision – Type Of Effect – Commencement Date – Amending Legislation – Amending Provision – Savings – Commencement Authority

The annotation for an amendment should specify—

the location in the amended legislation and type of amendment (for example, 'Words in s. 1(1)) repealed')

any limitation of the jurisdictional extent or territorial application (TA) (if the amendment is of lesser extent or TA than the amended provision)

when it comes into force, with any in-force qualifications and incremental in-force information (for example: 'repealed (1.2.2004)'; or 'inserted (1.1.2005 for specified purposes, 1.1.2006 so far as not already in force)')

all provisions of the amending legislation giving authority for the amendment (to include: title, year, series number, main affecting provisions, commencement provision (if any), together with any savings). Brief details of any subsequent commencing S.I. are added; the structure of this addition will be similar to the main citation, except that the title of the comencing S.I. is not included, and commencing S.Is. do not themselves generally contain any commencement provision.

The system uses the following logic when generating annotations from the effects:
F-note and C-note general annotations:
[Affected provision][:] [type of effect] [([affecting territorial application or, if none, then affecting extent, if this is narrower than affected extent])] ([IF Date] [IF Date Qualification [IF Date Other]] …) by ["by virtue of", if type of effect = omitted, ceases to have effect] [Affecting legislation title] ([affecting legislation number]), [affecting provision], [commencement authority] [(with [Savs])] [Appended commentary]; [commencing legislation number], [commencing provision] [(with [CO Savs])] [CO Appended commentary] …
"…" indicates the possibility of adding incremental commencement data. The IF Dates and IFDQs of course do not necessarily come from the core effect, but may be added incrementally by subsequent COs which are associated with the core effect via the Commencing Effects Research task.
Where a ‘Suggested Commentary’ has been entered along with the core effect, this would overwrite the usual construction of the annotation.
Example Annotations:
Words in Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) inserted (S.) (1.1.2005) by Update Manual Act 2004 (c. 1), ss. 7, 44(2) (with s. 22); S.I. 2004/4321, art. 2 (with art. 3)
(where s. 7 is the amending section, s. 44(2) is the commencement authority, s. 22 contains a saving, and S.I. 2004/4321 is a commencing S.I.)
Art. 3(1) repealed (2.6.2007) by Manual Update (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1234 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(2), 39(3), Sch. 3
(where art. 1(2) is the commencement provision, art. 39(3) is the omitting provision and Sch. 3 is the repealing provision. We no longer cite the inducing provision of the amending Schedule.)

Points to note:

We don’t express provisions with the same digits that we insist upon for ExToEs. So Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) is not expressed in annotations as “Sch. 02 para, 004(a)(ii)”.

Punctuation and spacing are crucial and must be uniform across every annotation. So, for example, in any qualification of extent there should always be full stops, e.g. “E.W.”, “S.”. And there should be spaces after commas and full stops denoting abbreviations, such as "s. 2" or "para. 4" (but not within indications of limited extent, such as "N.I." or E.W.S.", or in dates).

In some instances the automatically generated reference to the amending legislation may not include certain types of provisions, e.g. ‘Groups’. In such cases it may be necessary to add this information to the annotation, e.g. Sch. 3 Group 4.

The effect types 'omitted' and 'ceases to have effect' are always expressed, for grammatical reasons, to be "by virtue of” the affecting provision.

During normal editorial practice we would not anticipate you needing to make any significant changes to the annotations. If you do however find it necessary to make some changes it would help the reviewers if you could add a note on the ‘Update Overview’ page alerting them to the fact that some manual editing of the annotation was necessary.

C-notes (Non-textual Effects)

See also Editorial Principles - Non-textual effects for the general principles relating to non-textual effects, and also a list of the main types of non-textual effect with example annotations.

Structure of C-notes

Much of what has been said about annotations for textual amendments applies equally to non-textual effects, and the online editorial tools will automatically generate the annotations according to prescribed rules.

The non-textual effects have already been identified at the mark-up stage, so your task is to ensure that the generated annotations accurately reflect what has been marked up.

Please follow the guidance in the previous section relating to textual amendments when you are checking to see whether the generated annotation is accurate.

Note that C-notes are always recorded against a provision or sub-provision and never against particular words.

C-note general annotation:
[For the logic see F-notes above]
Example Annotations:
Sch. 2 para. 4(a)(ii) modified (S.) (1.1.2005) by Update Manual Act 2004 (c. 1), ss. 7, 44(2) (with s. 22)
(where s. 7 is the affecting section, s. 44(2) is the commencing section and s. 22 contains a saving)
Art. 3(1) applied (with modifications) (2.6.2007) by Manual Update (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/1234 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(2), 39(3), Sch. 3
(where art. 1(2) is the commencement provision, art. 39(3) is the applying provision and Sch. 3 contains a list of modifications. We no longer cite the inducing provision of affecting Schedules.)

As with textual amendments, if you do need to make some changes it would help the reviewers if you could add a note on the ‘Update Overview’ page alerting them to the fact that some manual editing of the annotation was necessary.

I-notes (Commencement information)

For the general principles relating to the commencement of legislation, see Editorial Principles - Commencement.

Structure of I-notes

As for F-notes and C-notes, the online editorial tools will automatically generate the annotations according to prescribed rules. Commencement effects have already been identified at the mark-up stage, so your task is to ensure that the generated annotations accurately reflect what has been marked up.

Please follow the guidance in the previous sections when you are checking to see whether the generated annotation is accurate.

Note that I-notes are always recorded against a provision or sub-provision and never against particular words.

I-note general annotation:
[Affected provision] in force at [IF Date] [IF Date Qualification [IF Date Other]] by [commencing legislation number], [commencing provision] [(with [CO Savs])]
Example Annotation:
S. 1(1) in force at 1.11.2011 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2011/1234, reg. 2 (with reg. 3)

E-notes (Extent information)

E-notes are at present used very sparingly, mainly to indicate some complexity or change in the extent of an Act or provision which is not adequately reflected in the extent provision of the Act. They have been used more extensively in the past, particularly to indicate that there are multiple versions of a provision for different geographic extents.

An update editor would not usually be required to insert E-notes unless on the advice of a Review Editor.

P-notes (Subordinate legislation made)

P-notes are rarely used at present. They have been used more extensively in the past, originally to record details of all subordinate legislation made under each power-conferring provision in an Act. They continued to be used until recently to record the making of commencement orders.

An update editor would not usually be required to insert P-notes unless on the advice of a Review Editor.

M-notes (Marginal citations)

M-notes are generally derived from the text of the original legislation as enacted. They are no longer used in primary legislation.

It is very unlikely that an update editor would be required to insert an M-note.

X-notes (Editorial information)

There is no set format for X-notes. They are tailored individually according to the circumstances in each case. An update editor would not be required to insert any X-notes unless on the advice of a Review Editor.

Special Considerations

[PLEASE NOTE: THIS TOPIC IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION]

'Awkward' Amendments

"it is provided that"

This formulation is used when we can't be sufficiently sure of the drafter's intention to carry the amendment through into the text. For example, there may be an ambiguity as to the precise location intended, or words referred to as the 'target' in the amending Act do not coincide exactly with the text in the amended Act. Instead of carrying the amendment through in the usual way, we will insert an F-note in the text, either before the number of the relevant provision or sub-provision, or before the probable target text. The relevant text will be enclosed in square brackets, and the ambiguous instruction in the amending legislation will be recited in full in the annotation. An update editor should only ever use this procedure in consultation with a Review Editor.

"by virtue of"

This formulation is used in circumstances where, although there is some awkwardness arising from the wording of the amending provision, we can be sufficiently sure of the intended effect (and that the words do in fact have that intended effect) to carry the amendment through into the text. A typical example might be where the amending section provides that “for the words “sections 1 and 2” there shall be inserted “sections 1, 2 and 2A””. In the context we can be confident that a substitution is intended, and that no other interpretation is feasible. In such a case, the amendment will be dealt with textually in the usual way, except that the expression "by virtue of" will follow the description of the amendment (for example "Words in s. 2(1) substituted (date) by virtue of . . ."). An update editor should only ever use this procedure in consultation with a Review Editor.

Tables

Citation of Affecting Legislation

These tables set out the standard formats for citing affecting legislation in annotations. The examples in the tables only include current or recent legislation types which you are likely to come across as affecting legislation in the editorial update exercise. They do not include older legislation types (such as Acts of the old English Parliament, or Measures of the Northern Ireland Assembly). If you need to check citations relating to the effects of older legislation types, see the Guide to Revised Legislation on legislation.gov.uk at p. 15 onwards.

Primary legislation	Form of citation
Public General Acts (UK)	. . . Act 2018 (c. 21)
Local Acts (UK)	. . . Act 2018 (c. xiv)
Acts of the Scottish Parliament	. . . Act 2018 (asp 15) [Note: no dot]
Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly	. . . Act (Northern Ireland) 2018 (c. 16)
Acts of the National Assembly for Wales [from 2012]	. . . (Wales) Act 2018 (anaw 3) [Note: no dot]
Measures of the National Assembly for Wales [to 2011]	. . . (Wales) Measure 2011 (nawm 4) [Note: no dot]
Church Measures	. . . Measure 2018 (No. 1)

Secondary legislation	Form of citation
UK Statutory Instruments	. . . Order [etc.] 2018 (S.I. 2018/1234)
Wales Statutory Instruments	Same as UK Statutory Instruments (of which they are a type) [Note: no ‘W.’ series numbers.]
Northern Ireland Orders in Council	Same as UK Statutory Instruments (of which they are a type) [Note: we no longer add ‘N.I.’ series numbers.]
Scottish Statutory Instruments	. . . Order [etc.] 2018 (S.S.I. 2018/1234)
Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland	. . . Order [etc.] 2018 (S.R. 2018/1234)
Church Instruments	These are used only as commencing instruments.

Standard Abbreviations

Listed below are the main abbreviations used in annotations (other than for legislation types, as to which see 'Citation of Affecting Legislation' above). Where applicable, the plural is given in brackets. Unless otherwise indicated in the list, initial letters of the abbreviations should appear in lower case (except where they occur at the beginning of a sentence).

Abbreviation	Meaning
art. (arts.)	article(s)
Ch. (Chs.)	Chapter(s) (as a division of legislation)
para. (paras.)	paragraph(s)
prosp.	prospective
Pt. (Pts.)	Part(s)
reg. (regs.)	regulation(s)
retrosp.	retrospective
s. (ss.)	section(s)
Sch. (Schs.)	Schedule(s) [But Note: for schedules in asps use lower case.]
temp.	temporary

In general, terms for types of sub-division of legislation other than those listed above should be spelt out (for example ‘Appendix’, ‘Note’, ‘Rule’, etc.).

@@ Line 106: / Line 106: @@
 *	In some instances the automatically generated reference to the amending legislation may not include certain types of provisions, e.g. ‘Groups’. In such cases it may be necessary to add this information to the annotation, e.g. Sch. 3 Group 4.
+*	The effect types 'omitted' and 'ceases to have effect' are always expressed, for grammatical reasons, to be "by virtue of” the affecting provision.
 <strong>During normal editorial practice we would not anticipate you needing to make any significant changes to the annotations</strong>. If you do however find it necessary to make some changes it would help the reviewers if you could add a note on the ‘Update Overview’ page alerting them to the fact that some manual editing of the annotation was necessary.