Law Reform Flashcards
Explain the Establishment of the Law Commission, with regards to Law Reform.
Law Commission Act 1965: set up Law Commission.
* Full-time body + consists of a Chairman (High Court or Appeal Judge), + 4 additional law commissioners who are highly qualified lawyers + have their on teams on specific areas of law.
S.3 Law Commission Act 1965: role of the Law Commission: keep law of England + Wales under review + to recommended reforms, that will make law simpler, more accessible, fairer, modern, + more cost effective.
Explain the process- reform (what are they doing?)- of the Law Commission, with regards to Law Reform.
Commission considers areas of law that are believed to need reform.
How do they know what law to look at?
* Actual topics may be referred to Lord Chancellor on behalf of gov, or
* Commission may state areas in need of reform + seek gov approval to draft a report.
Focus is on substantive law (i.e. criminal, family, land, + contract law)
* Researches area of law that’s thought to need reform.
* Then publishes consultation paper seeking views on possible reform. Paper states current law, problems + looks for options for reform.
* Following responses to consultation paper, then draws up positive proposals for reform- presented in a report with all research, draft bill may be included. Then go through stages of parliament to become law.
Explain how the Law Commission Changes the Law through Codification, with regards to Law Reform.
Codification: process of collecting + arranging laws into a complete system of statute law. Can also change sections that need reform (e.g. Criminal Justice Act 1988).
* Involves reviewing all law on a particular topic + creating a completed code to cover all aspects of law on that topic.
* Likely to include existing law as well as creating new law where prev law was unsatisfactory.
* Makes law simpler + easier to find as it’s in one place.
Explain how the Law Commission Changes the Law through Consolidation, with regards to Law Reform.
- Aim is to draw all existing law together in one Act.
- Different to codification as law isn’t reviewed/changed, just brought together. No reform takes place.
- Encourages law to be more accessible.
Explain how the Law Commission Changes the Law through Repeal, with regards to Law Reform.
- Identifying old acts which are no longer used, so parliament can repeal these acts- act is then no longer law.
- Recommendations made by Law Commission but only parliament can repeal an Act.
- Been very successful: over 3000 out-of-date Acts completely repealed.
Explain the Implementation Of Proposals For Reform, with regard to Law Reform.
- To be effective, must be passed as law by parliament.
- First 10 years successful , but then hit an all-time low in 1990. 3 measures created to ensure parliament implement reforms:
1) Law Commission Act 2009: amended 1965 act- placed req annually on gov’s progress to implementing reports.
2)** Protocol agreed between gov + Law Commission sets out the minster for the relevant department will provide a response, no later than 6 months after publication of report, + give final response within a year.
**3)* Dedicated parliamentary procedure to implement any reports classed as ‘uncontroversial’. Operated since 2010, 6 acts passed through this procedure. - Implementation rate: 2017: 66%, + in 2023: 69% of reports have been implemented.
- Example of reform made in recent years by Law Commission proposals: Coroners + Justice Act 2009
Explain the Advantages of Reform Through the Law Commission, with regard to Law Reform.
- Areas of law are researched by legal experts (highly qualified lawyers who have their own teams on specific areas of law)
- If parliament enacts reform of a whole area of law,then law is in 1 act (such as Land Registration Act 2002). Also makes it easier to find + to understand.
Explain the Disadvantages of Reform Through The Law Commission, with regard to Law Reform.
- Law commission has to wait for gov to bring in reforms proposed. This is often a slow process, + some proposed reforms are never made law, due to the vast number of reforms proposed that parliament doesn’t have the time to deal with.
- A major area of criminal law, non-fatal offences against the person, is still awaiting reform.
