Dr. iur. Dr. h.c. mult. Virgilio Zapatero Gómez is emeritus professor at the University of Alcalá de Henares (Spain), where he has previously held the chair of legal philosophy. He is author of El arte de legislar (2009) and El derecho como proceso normativo (Law as a normative process, 2010), as well as editor of the Spanish translation of J. Bentham's Nomography (2004). He has been an MP at the Spanish Congress (1979-1993), Secretary of State (1982-1986), Ministry of the Spanish Government (1986-1993), representative at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1993) and Rector of the University of Alcalá. Madrid (2002-2010).

Introduction - The Study of Legislation.- The Dignity of Laws.- Laws under Suspicion.- The Design of Laws.- Legislative Policy.- A Soft Law.- The Art of Regulating.- Modes of Legislative Drafting.- The Drafter's Tasks.- Drafter's Deontology.- Implementation.- Government and Parliament.- Legislators and Judges.- Epilogue: The Art of Legislating and Globalisation.