law reform (P2)

Question 1

what is the law commission?

Answer 1

-set up in 1965 by the law commissions act 1965
-a full-time body
-consists of a chair (a high court judge), four other law commissioners and support and research staff

Question 2

what are the 4 principles the law commission aims to ensure the law is?

Answer 2

-fair
-modern
-simple
-cost-effective

Question 3

what is meant by ‘reform’?

Answer 3

-update the law
-LC can choose areas it considers need updating, or can be referred to it by the gov via lord chancellor

Question 4

what is the process of law reform?

Answer 4

-first open a consultation (sets out the current law and why it needs to be reformed)
-consultation invites responses from interested parties, and includes current problems, suggestions for reform, questions for interested parties to consider, and examples of how it operates in other countries
-after a suitable time for responses, the LC will issue a report, often containing a draft bill

Question 5

what is codification?

Answer 5

-reviewing all the law on a topic, creating a complete code of law, then integrating all relevant laws into a new act
-when LC was first made its aim was to codify all of family, contract, landlord and tenant laws and the law of evidence, but the enormity meant the idea was shelved

Question 6

what is consolidation?

Answer 6

-drawing all existing provisions in an area of law into one act
-different to codification as the laws aren’t reviewed or changed, just brought together

Question 7

what is repeal?

Answer 7

-act ceases to be law
-only parliament can repeal an act, but LC can advise parliament
-19 bills have been enacted since 1965, repealing more than 3000 acts

Question 8

advantages of reform through LC

Answer 8

-saves parliaments time (3000 acts being repealed)
-law is researched by legal experts (chair is a high court judge appointed by lord chancellor)
-consultation before proposals (eg the sentencing code)
-whole areas of law are considered (2012 LC published paper on contempt of court, covering court reporting, junior misconduct, scandalised court)
-can bring the law on one topic together in an act ( eg powers of criminal courts (sentencing) bill)
-simplified and modernised the law (simplification of crim law

Question 9

disadvantages of reform through LC

Answer 9

-gov is slow to implement reforms (offences against the person (law com no.218))
-some reforms are never implemented (liability for psychiatric illness(law com no.249)
-lack of parliamentary time to discuss (coroners and justice act 2009 cherrypicked elements of law)
-parl may make changes without legal expertise (eg homicide reforms in the coroners and justice act)