The government of the day has the major say in what laws will be enacted and sets out its
agenda for law reform in each session of Parliament. New governments that come to power are
usually elected based on its manifesto, which often involves changes to the law. Pressure
groups provide the impetus for law reform. This can be seen where they campaign about issues
like health, human rights and more. Interest pressure groups are often consulted at the early
stage by the government. Greenpeace and Amnesty International are well-known pressure
groups.
The Law Commission is a permanent body, comprising five people drawn from the
judiciary, the legal profession and legal academics. The chairman is a High Court judge, a
Queen’s Council experienced in criminal law, a solicitor with experience of land law and equity
and two legal academics assisted by qualified civil servants.
Under the Law Commissions Act 1965, the Law Commission’s task is to codify the law,
remove anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary legislation, consolidate the law, simplify
and modernise the law. Reform projects are referred to by the Lord Chancellor or Government
department. A typical project will begin with a study of the area of law and an attempt to identify
its defeats. The Commission publishes a consultation paper seeking views and comments,
describing present law, its shortcomings and sets out the best possible options for reform. The
Commission’s final recommendations are set out in a report containing a draft. The Government
decides whether it accepts the recommendation and introduces any necessary Bill in
Parliament.
Codification was a principal task of the Commission. Attempts in codifying family law,
contract, landlord and tenant were abandoned, showing the lack of success. The law
commission is particularly concerned with the Government’s failure to codify criminal law. The
Commission produced a series of draft Bills based on the code, incorporating appropriate law
reform proposals, making substantial improvements in the law. If enacted, these Bills will form a
criminal code.
A code allows people to see their rights and liabilities more clearly than case laws and
separate statutes could, encouraging judges to look for answers within it. However, if
codification were insufficiently detailed, it would need to be interpreted by the courts, making law
neither accessible nor more certain. The Law Commission will proceed with the aim of eventual
codification instead of large-scale.
The Law Commission has been successful dealing with smaller areas of law as far as
general law reform and major family law reforms are concerned. The Commission has radically
changed contract law by recommending control of exclusion clauses which led to the passing of
the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. However, there has been a major problem with lack of
implementation of Law Commission proposals. There is better chance of proposals becoming
legislation if the subject concerned comes within the remit of the Ministry of Justice.
agenda for law reform in each session of Parliament. New governments that come to power are
usually elected based on its manifesto, which often involves changes to the law. Pressure
groups provide the impetus for law reform. This can be seen where they campaign about issues
like health, human rights and more. Interest pressure groups are often consulted at the early
stage by the government. Greenpeace and Amnesty International are well-known pressure
groups.
The Law Commission is a permanent body, comprising five people drawn from the
judiciary, the legal profession and legal academics. The chairman is a High Court judge, a
Queen’s Council experienced in criminal law, a solicitor with experience of land law and equity
and two legal academics assisted by qualified civil servants.
Under the Law Commissions Act 1965, the Law Commission’s task is to codify the law,
remove anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary legislation, consolidate the law, simplify
and modernise the law. Reform projects are referred to by the Lord Chancellor or Government
department. A typical project will begin with a study of the area of law and an attempt to identify
its defeats. The Commission publishes a consultation paper seeking views and comments,
describing present law, its shortcomings and sets out the best possible options for reform. The
Commission’s final recommendations are set out in a report containing a draft. The Government
decides whether it accepts the recommendation and introduces any necessary Bill in
Parliament.
Codification was a principal task of the Commission. Attempts in codifying family law,
contract, landlord and tenant were abandoned, showing the lack of success. The law
commission is particularly concerned with the Government’s failure to codify criminal law. The
Commission produced a series of draft Bills based on the code, incorporating appropriate law
reform proposals, making substantial improvements in the law. If enacted, these Bills will form a
criminal code.
A code allows people to see their rights and liabilities more clearly than case laws and
separate statutes could, encouraging judges to look for answers within it. However, if
codification were insufficiently detailed, it would need to be interpreted by the courts, making law
neither accessible nor more certain. The Law Commission will proceed with the aim of eventual
codification instead of large-scale.
The Law Commission has been successful dealing with smaller areas of law as far as
general law reform and major family law reforms are concerned. The Commission has radically
changed contract law by recommending control of exclusion clauses which led to the passing of
the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. However, there has been a major problem with lack of
implementation of Law Commission proposals. There is better chance of proposals becoming
legislation if the subject concerned comes within the remit of the Ministry of Justice.
