law reform

• who/what influences law?

  • government/Parliament
  • judicial
  • pressure groups
  • media and public opinion
  • inquires
  • e-petitions
  • international obligations
• how does government influence law?

  manifesto
• how does Parliament influence law?

  • creates/amends
  • repeals laws - Statute Law Repeals Act 2018
  • codification - Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
  • consolidation - Equality Act 2010
• how does judicial influence law?

  make changes through statutory interpretation and original precedent

  eg. R v R 1991

  eg. Quintavalle 2003
• how does pressure groups influence law?

  lobbying

  petitions

  writing to local MPs

  strikes

  protests

  advertising

  boycotting

  media publicity

  eg. The Snowdrop Campaign
• how does media and public opinion influence law?

  media pressure helped secure a judicial inquiry into the handling of the killing of Stephen Lawrence

  Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 brought in after publicised dog attacks

  News of the World Campaign led to Sarah’s law
• how do inquiries influence law?

  temporary committees set up in response to a significant event

  investigate and examine the causes so lessons can be learnt

  eg. Litvinenko Inquiry 2016

  Stephen Lawrence Inquiry 1999

  Leveson Inquiry 2012
• how do e-petitions influence law?

  e-petition website where members of the public can set up a petition on an issue of their choice

  10000 signatures = gov response

  100000 signatures = Parliament debate
• how do International obligations influence law?

  Member of the Council of Europe - Human Rights Act 1998 brought the European Convention of the Human Rights into UK law

  Goodwin v UK 2002 - Gender Recognition Act 2004
• how effective are government and parliament in influencing law?

  • gov concerned with politically motivated areas
  • not bound to follow manifesto
  • knee-jerk reactions can cause complicated, unsuitable laws: Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
• how effective is judicial influence on law?

  • breach separation of powers
  • slow to change
  • may find too significant to change: C v DPP 1995 - Crime and Disorder Act 1998
• how effective are pressure groups influence on law?

  • allows minority groups to be represented and gain publicity
  • not representative of general public opinion
  • again governments attention
  • questionable methods
• how effective are media and public opinion on influence of law?

  • persuading government to take action
  • impression of hysteria
  • unsatisfactory knee-jerk reactions
• when was the law commission in England and Wales set up?

  Law Commissions Act 1965
• what’s the composition of the Law Commission?

  5 commissioners and chairperson

  • chairperson - High Court judge or Appeal Court judge (3 years max)
  • commissioners - judges, solicitors, barristers or teachers of law (5 years - renewable)

  supported by Chief Executive, Parliamentary Counsel and research assistants (qualified law graduates)
• how is law commission proactive?

  decided what areas of law to consider
• how is law commission reactive?

  responds to government requests
• what’s the role of the law commission?

  importance

  • extent law would benefit reform

  suitability

  • suitable body to conduct review

  resources

  • valid experience
  • funding
  • requirements of the programme
• what’s the law commission process?

  1. research the area
  2. publish a consultation paper seeking view on possible reforms
  3. draw up proposals for reform
  4. present proposals in a report
  5. legislative process through parliament
• what’s the role of law commission?

  s3 law commissions act 1965

  • repeal archaic and unnecessary laws
  • codify and consolidate laws
  • fix anomalies
  • simplify and modernise the law
• what’s codification?

  merging Acts and case law

  eg. Draft Criminal Code 1989
• what’s consolidation?

  merging Acts together

  eg. Charities Act 2022

  Cooperative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014
• what are the advantages of codification and consolidation?

  • increased accessibility
  • consistency and certainty
  • law is in one place
• what are the disadvantages of codification and consolidation?

  • too rigid
  • unable to respond to change
  • rarely stays as a single document for long
• what’s the effectiveness of law commission?


  Draft Criminal Code 1989

  • no longer seek to codify the criminal law

  Law commission Act 1990

  • introduce new protocol
  • duty to report annually to Parliament on the implementation of commission proposals
  • response within 6 months

  Halliday Report 2003

  • very high esteem
  • criticism centres on the lack of implementation