law reform

Question 1

what is law reform?

Answer 1

‘The process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing changes in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency’

Question 2

what are the reasons for law reform?

Answer 2

• Mistakes
• Events
• Changing social circumstances
• Confusion

Question 3

how can the law be changed?

Answer 3

• Judicial change
• Reform by Parliament
• Pressure groups
• Law reform agencies
• Individual campaigns
• Events

Question 4

what are the 4 ways most law reform is carried out by
Parliament?

Answer 4

• Repeal
• Creation of a new law
• Consolidation
• Codification e.g. Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Question 5

how have pressure groups brought about reform?

Answer 5

• Friends of the Earth – the House Waste Recycling Act 2003 and the Climate Change Bill in 2008
• Welsh Language Society – The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Welsh Language(Wales) Measure 2011.
• Snowdrop Petition (Dunblane) managed to persuade the Government to ban most types of handguns

Question 6

how do go pressure groups go about campaigning for a change in the law?

Answer 6

• Publicity.
• Petitions.
• Lobbying MPs.
• Demonstrations.
• Writing to MPs/ Ministers.

Question 7

what is a ROYAL COMMISSION?

Answer 7

• Independent experts.
• Set up when necessary.
• Once report is completed, group disbands.
• Runciman Commission set up after the
  Birmingham six were released.

Question 8

examples of PUBLIC INQUIRIES: One-off temporary committee?

Answer 8

• The Cullen Report led to the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 after the Dunblane Disaster.
• Grenfell Tower Inquiry. This is a very recent and highly publicised Inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire

Question 9

what are other pressures for change?

Answer 9

• Public opinion
• Other political parties e.g Private Members’ Bills e.g. Abortion Act 1967; the ‘year and day rule’ was abolished through a Private Members’ Bill (Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act 1996).
• Individual campaign - Julie Hogg case; Double Jeopardy Rule

Question 10

what are Law reform agencies?

Answer 10

The Law Commission:
- Set up in 1965
- 5 people from - judiciary, legal profession and legal academics, assisted by legally qualified civil servants
-Law Commission’s task is to:
Codify the law;
Remove anomalies in the law;
Repeal obsolete and unnecessary legislation;
Consolidate the law;
Simplify and modernise the law.
Commission publishes a consultation paper and final recommendations are set out in a report with a draft Bill.

Question 11

what does the The Law Commission Act 2009 do?

Answer 11

try and improve the success of the Law Commission:
* It requires that the Lord Chancellor tell Parliament each year whether the Government has decided to implement any of the previous year’s Law Commission proposals and, if not, why not.
* It also introduced a new parliamentary procedure which reduces the time and resources required to implement non-controversial Law Commission Bills.

Question 12

what was the law commissions biggest success?

Answer 12

One of the biggest successes of the Law Commission has
been changes to offences surrounding jury conduct during trials.
These changes have been included in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.

Question 13

what are the Problems with law reform agencies?

Answer 13

• Very little power
• No obligation on Governments to follow recommendations and proposals may be drastically altered
• Little influence over how proposals are put into practice
• Agencies tend to compromise too much
• Waste of expertise – once disbanded they play no further role in the law-making process
• No single Government ministry for law reform.