You can import legislation from legislation.gov.uk existing legislation into Lawmaker to create a new working version which you can edit further or copy into other documents. You can import a whole document or part of it (e.g. a specific section of an Act).
The URL must be from legislation is imported from www.legislation.gov.uk and you’ll need the URL (the web address) of the legislation you want to import.
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The import feature is still in beta as there are a number of edge cases that may need further refinement in future and some of the infrastructure used to support this feature is temporary while we await some important updates to http://legislation.gov.uk/ . Subsequent versions of Lawmaker will update this feature and make it more robust. |
How to import a document from legislation.gov.uk
First, go to www.legislation.gov.uk and navigate to the legislation you want to import.
Copy the URL from the browser, e.g.
On the Project tab, click on the Document actions drop down menu.
Select Import from legislation.gov.uk.
Paste the legislation.gov.uk URL of the document (or part of the document) you wish to import within in the URL field.
Select a folder and enter a version description for your new document.
Click the Import button Import.
Lawmaker will validate the URL to check that it is points to a piece of legislation on legislation.gov.uk URL and that it is a piece of legislation. If it is valid, a new working version will be created on the Project tab containing the imported document.
What legislation can you import? (valid URLs/documents)
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You can import any Primaryprimary, Secondarysecondary, Draft and draft or EU legislation that is available on www.
You can import any version of a piece of legislation: original (as enacted), latest available (revised), or any point in time.
If the URL contains the keyword /contentslegislation.gov.uk. That includes:
United Kingdom Public General Acts
Acts of the Scottish Parliament
Statutory Instruments (Regulations, Orders etc.)
Scottish Statutory Instruments
EU Regulations, Directives and Decisions
You should provide the URL of the document or provision in the document that you want to import. However, if you copy the URL for a document’s contents page, for instance https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2022/3/contents , then Lawmaker will import the whole document will be imported (rather than the actual contents page).
If the URL contains a keyword for a specific partportion, for instance https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2022/3/section/2 , then only the specified section portion will be imported
You can import different versions of a piece of legislation: original (as enacted), latest available (revised), or a point in time version. To do this, use the options on legislation.gov.uk to view a particular version and then copy the full URL from the browser (e.g. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1998/46/2017-05-18)
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There are a few things that Lawmaker cannot import so copying URLs to these won’t work:
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PDFs
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Converting the imported document to match the format of your project
When importing a document from legislation.gov.uk , you have two choices:
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By default, when you import a document, Lawmaker will convert it to match the format of the project you are importing it into. For example, importing a EU regulation into a SI project will
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convert the
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unique EU provisions into SI provisions. There is more information below about what is converted as part of this process.
If you untick the Convert document to match the format of
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this document option then the original elements from the imported document will be preserved (e.g.: importing a EU regulation into a SI project will
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import the document retaining its EU
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elements). This
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may be useful for citing/referencing purposes, e.g. when you plan to put the imported content within a quoted structure in your Bill or SI.
When importing a document of the same type of your project, you can have the “Convert it doesn’t matter whether Convert document to match the format of this project” either project is ticked or unticked.
Non-imported elements
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What isn’t imported into Lawmaker?
Lawmaker only imports the main body of a document (including the schedules, annexes and appendices) and, in the case of an SI, the conclusions of the document (containing the explanatory note).
Some specific elements and information are removed when importing any document type:
Signature any signature block
Editorial notes and markup about amendments Table formattingto the imported provisions
Formatting information about tables (e.g. column widths, border formatting, landscape orientation)
The following are also removed when importing EU documents:
Preamblethe preamble
Attachmentsany attachment
Elements not yet supported
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The import feature is currently beta. This means that there are a few elements that are not yet supported and, therefore, are not currently imported or are imported incorrectly. These are:
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Landscape pages
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What happens when you import EU legislation into a Bill or SI
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Each EU articles become sections in UK/Scottish Bill, regulations in SI/SSIbecomes a section in the Bill or a regulation, rule or article in the SI (depending on subtype)
EU article paragraphs become subsections in UK/Scottish Billthe Bill (and stay as paragraphs within SIs).
Paragraph numbering style changes to match UK/Scottish Bill and or SI /SSI style as appropriate.
EU annexes and appendices become individual separate schedules . The word “Annex” / “Appendix” is replaced with the word “Schedule” and they and all the schedules are numbered sequentially. However, the The original number information of the annex or appendix is retained and inserted as part of the schedule heading. For instance, “Appendix
Appendix II
Continuing Airworthiness
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Arrangement
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might become:
Schedule 3
Appendix II - Continuing Airworthiness
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Converting Act to SI and vice versa
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Arrangement
Within Annexes and appendices, Lawmaker will try and convert the content into a series of schedule paragraphs. Where there are extra headings that don’t fit neatly into the structure of a schedule, Lawmaker will put these headings into empty schedule paragraphs so you can delete them or modify the document further.
What happens when you import an Act into an SI or vice versa
When you import an Act into an SI, Lawmaker does the following:
Act sections become regulations, rules or articles (depending on SI subtype).
Act subsections become paragraphs paragraphs within those regulations etc.
The numbering style of sections is adjusted (adding the full stop after the number).
When you import an SI into Act, the reverse is done.