law reforms

Question 1

why do we need a law reform body

Answer 1

to ensure that the law is up to date with advances in the world and government do not have time to update law. also we don’t need political agenda in our laws
Members of the law commissioners have legal knowledge and specialists.

Question 2

under section 3 of the law commission act 1965 what are the objectives of the law commission:

Answer 2

identify areas of the law where reform is necessary, codifying the law, repeal obsolete laws, consolidate and modernise the law.

Question 3

list a law commission report that have been successful

Answer 3

computer misuse act 1990

Question 4

what is the process of reform

Answer 4

a topic for research is chosen by the law commission or referred by the government
law commission works by researching an area of the law in need of reform
then it produces a consultation paper which describes the current law its problems and opinions for reform
following on from the responses the consultation paper the commission will draw up positive proposals for reform in the final report this will often include a draft bill with the intention that this is he exact way the law should be reformed.

Question 5

what is consolidation

Answer 5

consolidation is the process of combining the law from several acts of parliament together into one act of parliament

Question 6

name an act which proves the law commissioners role of repealing obsolete legislation is more successful

Answer 6

deer act 1980 fully repealed by the deer act 1991 to put measures in place to prevent the poaching of deer and control the sale of venison

Question 7

what are some of the suggestions yet to be implemented in the OAPA 1861

Answer 7

outdated language ‘grevious and malicious’ = intention or recklessness
outdated ‘wounding’ not as serious as old time due to health care advances
no clear boundaries between the offences no statutory definition of assault and battery
s18 and 20 too similar hard to convict s18 as intent is hard to prove- oblique/direct

Question 8

what is codification

Answer 8

involves bringing together all law on one topic unto the complete code of law. this makes the law simpler and easier to find.

Question 9

what is the building block approach

Answer 9

it concentrates on the codification of small sections of the law that can be added to later. it also makes it more likely that the government would be prepared to make such reforms of the law.

Question 10

what does repeal entail

Answer 10

this means that the act ceases to be law only parliament can repeal an act of parliament
by 2015 there had been 19 statute law (repeals) acts over 3000 out of date acts of parliament have been completely repealed.

Question 11

3 examples of old acts that have been repealed

Answer 11

1- european union withdrawal act 1 and 2
2- divorce (insanity and desertion) act 1958
3- deer act 1980

Question 12

which two important measures have been implemented to improve the situation about proposals for reform

Answer 12

1- the law commission act 2009 amends the 1965 act by placing a requirement on the lord chancellor to report to parliament annually on the government’s progress in implementing reports
2- a dedicated parliamentary procedure to implement law commission reports regarded as uncontroversial has operated since 2010 and 6 acts have passed through this procedure

Question 13

name the 4 important reforms that have happened over the last 10 years

Answer 13

corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide act 2007
coroners and justice act 2009
criminal justice and court act 2015
consumer rights act 2015

Question 14

what was the purpose of the corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide act 2007 reform

Answer 14

broaden the law on corporate manslaughter in the UK, created a new offence. attempts to align the offence of corporate killing north and south of the border of an indictable offence is committed if the way in which an organisation’s activities are managed or organised causes a person’s death and amounts to a gross breach of relevant duty of care.

Question 15

what was the purpose of the coroners and justice act 2009 reform

Answer 15

to amend the law relating to coroners , investigations of deaths and the certification and registration of deaths to amend the criminal law to make provision about criminal justice

Question 16

what was the purpose of the criminal justice and court act 2015 reform

Answer 16

an act to make provision about how offenders are dealt with before and after conviction to create offences involving ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a person providing healthcare or social care, to create an offence of disclosing private sexual photographs or films with intent to cause distress and to amend the offence of meeting a child following sexual grooming

Question 17

what was the purpose of the consumer rights act 2015 reform

Answer 17

what should happen when goods are faulty, unfair terms in a contract, what happens when a business is acting in a way which isn’t competitive.

Question 18

what did the report ‘firearms law-reforms to address pressing problems’ change about the policing and crime act 2017 (part 6)

Answer 18

the act closed loopholes relating to the possession, conversion, selling, lending and certification of firearms

Question 19

what did the report ‘wildlife law’ change about the night poaching acts 1828 and 1844, the game act 1831, poaching prevention act 1862, the grand game act 1880, deer act 1991 s2

Answer 19

the acts won’t allow explanations of certain wild animals a valuable economic or leisure resources e.g. protection of the hunting rights of owners/ occupiers of land

Question 20

who are the royal commissions

Answer 20

sir nicholas green

Question 21

what do the royal commissioners do

Answer 21

drafting revised versions of confusing laws

Question 22

what are the advantages of the law commissioners role

Answer 22

+areas of the law are researched by legal experts
+non-political
+ the LC consults before finalising it’s proposals -not rushed
+ whole areas of law can be considered not just small issues
+ if parliament enacts the reforms of a whole area of law then the law is one act such as the powers of criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 and its easier to find and understand
+reform can simplify and modernise law

Question 23

what are the disadvantages of the law commissioners role

Answer 23

• failure of parliament to implement reforms- law commissioner has to wait for the government to bring in the reforms it proposes. government is slow to enact reforms and some law commissioners reports have not yet been made law e.g. nfo’s not yet reformed
• LC can only be effective if the government and parliament are prepared to find time to enact reforms
• lack of parliamentary time- problem with amount of time available only small amounts of time are left for ‘pure’ law reforms rather than taxation, health, education, etc.
• parliament may accept the law commisions recommendations in principle but when refroming the law the government may not follow all recommendations. as a bill goes through parliament change to the wording may be made sothat the final law is very different to that proposed by law commission. causing the law to be less satisfactory than the original proposals.
• the government doesn’t have to consult the law commission on changes to the law. this can mean that major changes are made without the benefit of the law commissioners legal knowledge and extensive research
• law of power 1/3 of proposals arent implemented
• lack of parliamentary action/ government and support
• a good initial success e.g. 50% success rate 1st 10 years not alot in 1990’s some attempts to improve this and save key criminal issues addressed e.g. murder in 2005

Question 24

give an example of a judge led investigation into specific areas of law/ legal system

Answer 24

the woolf committee a civil justice led to major reforms of the civil court system in 1999.

Question 25

advantages of reviews led by judges

Answer 25

+being experienced since they work in the law and the legal system

Question 26

disadvantages of reviews led by judges

Answer 26

• it takes judges away from their work as a judge
• the courts are busy and cutting the number of judges avaliable for court work doesnt improve the efficiency of the courts