A guide to writing good regulatory orders

This paper explores the principles and practices necessary for crafting effective regulatory orders, focusing on the Indian context. Regulatory agencies in India, vested with quasi-judicial powers, play a pivotal role in economic governance. Their orders significantly impact market participants and public trust. However, deficiencies in reasoning, structure, and clarity in these orders often undermine regulatory legitimacy and efficiency, leading to increased appeals and diminished stakeholder confidence. Drawing on a survey of extant literature and an analysis of orders issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), we identify four sets of requirements for better order writing: informational, structural, substantive, and stylistic. We propose a method of structuring regulatory orders that would aid readability and strengthen the logical flow of arguments. We propose measures such as the use of plain language and logical organisation to enhance the accessibility and transparency of regulatory orders. We study two sample orders to understand the current state of regulatory order writing practices in India. The study reveals significant gaps in current practices. We make some recommendations, including legislative reforms, organisational changes, and leveraging technology such as Large Language Models, to improve the quality of regulatory order writing.