law reform Flashcards
what are the 7 types of law reform
judicial change, parliament, law commission, pressure groups, royal commission, private members bills, public inquiries.
what is judicial change
when law is changed after a specific case happens.
what are 2 case examples of judicial change
R V R 1991 ghaidan v godin mendoza 2004
what happens in R V R 1991
a man had non-consensual sex with his wife and the house of lords declared that this was rape. as a result the sexual offences act was changed to reflect this decision
what happens in the case of Ghaidan v Godin Mendoza 2004
here the court held that homosexuals living in long term relationships should have the same tenancy rights as heterosexual couples.
why is judicial change rare and should not regularly happen?
1- courts can not reform for every case they come across
2- people involved often don’t have the money to pursue the change
3- judges are unable to consult experts so they are wary to change law without proper research
4- breaks the separation of powers
what is parliamentary change
legislation reflects parliaments ideas and can happen in many ways
what are the 4 ways parliamentary change can happen and what happens in them
1- repeal: old laws are removed
2- creation: new laws are made to keep up with society
3- consolidation: when a statue is made issues can appear over time, new legislation can be made to correct and amend it.
4- codification: as law develops over time, a large amount of law can make the law confusing so codification bring together all the rules into one statue
what 6 things can lead to parliamentary change?
events, the budget, the media, law reform agency’s, public opinion, European convention of human rights
how do events influence parliamentary change and a case example
unexpected events can lead to an urgent need for reform.
E.G. 9/11; led to the UK tightening terrorism laws and the creation of the anti-terrorism, crime and security act 2011.
how can the budget influence parliamentary change
each year the house of commons is given a budget statement. once the budget is agreed the parliament makes changes based on the budget.
how can the media influence parliamentary change with a case example.
issues of public concern can be highlighted creating moral panic and can force the parliament to make change.
CASE : Sarah’s law- Sarah Payne was murdered by a known paedophile and her parents did not know he was in the area. as a result the sex offender disclosure scheme was created so that people could see if and where sex offenders were living in the area.
how can law reform agency’s influence parliamentary change
several agency’s that put pressure on parliament to change the law.
these include: law commission, pressure groups, royal commissions and public inquiry’s
how can public opinion influence parliamentary change with an example.
members of the public can right to MPs. if the MP agrees they can introduce a proposal. e.g. the dangerous dogs act 1991 was introduced due to public concern.
how can the European convention of human rights influence parliamentary change with a case example
changes prompted by the ECHR can also prompt parliamentary law reform.
e.g. Goodwin V UK- AS A REWULT OF THIS CASE BEING HELD IN THE ECHR THE UK PARLIAMENT PASSED THE GENGER RECOFGNOTION ACT 2004.
what is a pressure group
an organisation that seeks to influence the law based on the views and opinions of the group
what are the 2 types of pressure grouops
interest and cause
What is an interest group
a group of people that are concerned with the interests of the members, the membership is limited to a specific occupation, motivated by self interest .
E.G. national teachers league
what is a cause group
a group with shared attitudes (e.g. poverty) they seek to advance particular ideas, membership is open to all, motivated by moral issues
E.G. society for the protection of birds
what are some of the methods that pressure groups can use
letter writing, protests, lobbying MPs, petitions.
what are the advantages to pressure groups
- encourage ordinary people to get involved in politics.
- facilitate public discussion
- there specialist knowledge can inform government
- enhances the article 10 freedom of expression
- raises public awareness
what are the disadvantages to pressure groups
- only provide a 1 sides argument
- if the group is small the views can be distorted
- they are not elected but can still influence government.
what is the law commission
a full time law reform body, looks into and seeks opinion on possible reforms drafting them into a bill to give to parliament `
what is the main 2 piece of legislation for the law commission
the law commission Act 2009and 1965
what are some examples of the success of the law commission
- within 10 years it had a success rate of 85%
- occupiers liability act 1984
- unfair contract terms act 1977
criminal justice act 2015- jury conduct in trials
examples of the failure of the law commission
1975-2000 only 50% were considered
- 1990- none were enacted
what review looked into the success and failure of the law commission
Halliday review 2003
what did the Halliday review 2003 find and an example
- found the main problem was the governments inability to accept the proposals.
e.g. - the review found that the law commissions proposal for reform of the land lords light of distress on the tenants property published in 1991 took 16 years for it to be part of law.
what is the law commissions aims like in present day with examples.
- now aims to simplify law rather than crating new law.
E.G. criminal justice act 2003, serious crime act 2007, fraud act 2006, coroners and justice act 2009
what is an advisory committee
a temporary law reform body set up to research and consult laws that need reform after a big event E.G. the Hillsborough disaster
what are the types of advisory committee
royal commission, public enquiry, other committee
what is the royal commission with example
A temporary committee set up by the gov to investigate a certain part of law.
E.G. Philips commission- resulted in the police and criminal evidence act 1984
what is a public enquiry with an example
these are set up usually after a specific event to examine possible changes of law as a result of some failing.
E.G. Stephen Lawrence enquiry- made after the murder of Lawrence and looked into the institutionalised racism of the police force.
what are the other committees and an example
these are set up at the request of a particular government minister to investigate and report ion a specific area of law
E.G. Woolf report- investigated the civil procedure and produced the access to justice act 1999
what are the disadvantages to law reform bodies
- law commission is the only full time reform body and it cannot cope with demand
- there is no obligation for the government to consult the law commission or other commissions
- the government can ignore any recommendations made by the reform body’s
- may be insufficient funding to bring the recommendations into place
- the temporary committees are disbanded after there report so take no part in the law making process so may be an waste of expertise
