Law Commission

• Law Commission Act 1965:


  ·          Statutory independent body set up by Parliament.
• ·          5 Law Commissioners (sit for 5 years):

  -           Chair is a High Court Judge

  -           Solicitor

  -           Barrister

  -           2 legal academics
• ·          Role:


  -           Systematically keep all English law under review

  -           Receive and consider proposals for law reform and consult relevant parties

  -           Put forward proposals for reform

  -           Repeal old Acts ( Statute Law (Repeals) Act 2015 proposed the repeal of over 200 outdated Acts of Parliament).

  -           Consolidation - bring together different Acts on a topic into a single Act (Fraud Act 2006).

  Codify - all the laws on a topic are brought together in one Act of Parliament (Sentencing Act 2020
• How the Law Commission works

  1. Referral

  2. Research

  3. Consultation

  4. Proposals for reform
• Referral


  1. Topics may be referred by the Lord Chancellor on behalf of the Government

  2. LC may select areas in need of reform
• Research


  1. LC researches the area of law in need of reform

  2. Publishes a consultation paper seeking views on possible reform
• Consultation


  1. A consultation paper will describe the current law

  2. Set out the problems

  3. Look at options for reform
• Proposals for reform


  1. Presented in a report

  2. Set out the research that led to the conclusions

  3. Often includes a draft Bill attached to the report
• Non-fatal Offences report 2015
• Examples of Acts based on LC reports:


  ·          Occupiers Liability Act 1984 (duty of care to trespassers)

  ·          Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 (criminal offences for a juror to use the internet to research a case)

  Have they been successful?

  ·          Not been successful with codification

  But, at first,

  ·          85% of proposals accepted.

  However,

  Implementation rate has dropped to 50% due to lack of time and interest by Parliament.
• ADVANTAGES:


  Independent from the Gov’t, Commissioners change every 5 years, Thorough research and consultation, Create draft Bills, Success rate
• ·          Independent from the Gov’t -


  This increases public confidence.  They provide an impartial review.  They are not affiliated to any political party so are free from political bias.
• • ·          Commissioners change every 5 years 


  which keeps a fresh perspective. They are legally trained and have a good understanding of law
• ·          Thorough research and consultation - 


  Reports should be free of errors and will be implemented by the government.
• ·          Create draft Bills - 


  This saves time for parliament as the law can then be put before parliament speeding the process up. It should avoid the need for green and white papers.
• ·          Success rate -

  Over 3,000 obsolete Acts have been repealed and many Acts implemented as a result of their reports. This helps modernise and simplify the statute book, reduce its size and save the time of lawyers and others who use it.
• DISADVANTAGES:


  Budget cuts, Many reports not implemented by Parliament, Lengthy process, Only advisory
• ·          Budget cuts -


  by 53% since 2011.  This means they cannot complete as many reports now as they could when first set up.  This means that important reform may not be carried out leaving the law out of date.
• ·          Many reports not implemented by Parliament - 


  Concerns that their implementation rates are falling (50%).  Money and time can be wasted when the Gov’t refuse to implement their reports (OAPA 1861.  In 1993 they recommend changes to this Act on non-fatal offences. Although this was accepted by Gov’t in 1997 the draft Bill drawn up by the Law Commission in 1998 was not implemented.  In 2015 a new report was drafted on the same topic and has still not been implemented in 2024)
• ·          Lengthy process -


  e.g. Offences Against Person Act took 5 years to report. This can significantly impact on delays to law reform.
• ·          Only advisory - 


  Law Commission make suggestions for change but it is the government of the day who decide whether to act on that recommendation.  As can be seen by the lack of action on non-fatal offences this can impact on law reform.
• Heavy workload for 5 Commissioners.  Review 20-30 laws at one time despite huge cuts to their budget.