Topic 5: Law Reform Flashcards
Why do we need law reform?
Allows for development of the law
Consolidation of related acts
Codification of all law on related topics
Repeal out of date statutes
What happened in 1616?
Lord Chancellors started calling for the appointment of Law Commisioners to revise the law
What happened in the 19th century?
Reform of some statutes which codified parts of the criminal law, the common law and specialised areas of comtract law
What happened in the 20th century?
Calls for an institution to be set up with responsibility for law reform lead to the creation of the Law Revision Comittee in 1934
When was there no permanent law reforming body?
1945-1952
What happened in 1965?
The law commission was set up
What is the composition of the Law Commission?
A chairman - HC/APP judge
4 other commissioners - experienced judges, solicitors or Barristers
All appointed by the Lord Chancellor
Appointed for 5 years & it’s full time work
Also support staff and 2 Parliamentary Draftsmen
What is the role of the Law Commission?
Considers areas of law that need to be reformed.
Role is set out in ‘s3 Law Commissions Act 1965’
How does the reform work? (3 R’s)
REFERRED- Referred by the Lord Chancellor in behalf of the Gov. may select areas and ask Gov’s approval.
RESEARCH- They’ll look at the area of reform and publish its findings, they’ll create a consultation paper. Enclosing: the current law, the problems, options for reform.
RESPONSE- they’ll then draw up positive response proposals for reform following the RESPONSE to their consultation paper. These are presented in a final report and go through the stages of passing a bill in both houses (GREEN WINGED DRAGONS)
What is codification with an example?
Bringing together all Law on one topic into one source. This could include legislation and common law. This is under the official role of the commissioner in ‘s3 Law Commission Act 1965’.
Eg. The Draft Criminal Code 1989 (was abandoned)
What is repeal?
Can be used to remove out of date sections and whole acts of parliament. Tidied up statutes, easier to find and more accessible. So far, 2,500 acts have been repealed.
What is consolidation with an example?
It’s used to bring existing provisions into one area of the law. Tidying up the Law, making it more accessible and easier to find.
Eg. Criminal Justice Act 2003
Example of an implemented law?
The Corporate Manslaughter and Homicide Act 2007
Advantages of the Law Commission?
Recent reforms
Quicker implementation
Codification and consolidation
Initial reports
Disadvantages of the Law Commission?
Limited Parliamentary Time
Reduced Implementation (eg. Non-fatal offences report from 1993 which hasn’t become law yet)!
Staffing, budgeting and time constraints
Lack of codification
What is the Royal Commission?
A temporary committee which investigates a report on a particular area of the law on a one-off basis. After it’s happened it’s disbanded.
What’s an example of a law passed by the Royal Commission?
The Royal Commission on Police Powers in 1981 made reform to PACE 1984
What’s an example of a reform that hasn’t been successful in a Royal Commission?
The Pearson Commission on Personal Injury
What’s an advantage about the Royal Commission?
Can take evidence from experts in the area of law concerned
Only focusses on one area at a time - more thorough?
What’s a disadvantage in regards to a Royal Commission?
Can only make recommendations and they’re not always put into effect.
In the 21st Century, the use of the Royal Commission has effectively been abandoned
What is a review by judges?
An individual judge can be asked to make proposals for reform. A key example is the Woolf Report in the civil courts system.
What are the ads & disads to Review by Judges?
Using judges to review the law means they can bring their first hand experience of applying the law into play. They’ll most likely know exactly what’s wrong with it.
However, this takes away their work as a judge. The courts are very busy and this doesn’t improve their efficiency so their interrupted from their work and wastes people’s time and money.
