Law reform.txt

• author "me"
• fileName "Law reform"
• tags ""
• description ""
• Who changes the law
• Ministerial departments
• Precedent
• Public opinion
• Pressure groups
• Law reform agencies

• Independent
• Full time
• Permanent
• 5 full time comissioners - chairman high court judge
• Set up by the law commission act 1965

• Keeps all English law under review
• It repeals bad and obsolete law
• Modernises and simplify the law
• Codify and consolidates areas of the law
• Consolidate - put all existing acts in one new act
• Codify - to create a new code of law, stating underlying legal principles trying to improve the law (changes law)
• However the law comission can't change the law on its own: only parliament can do that
• The government decided whether or not to enact the proposals.

• The comissioners are asked to research a topic by the lord chancellor or chooses one itself
• It consults with relevant parties and does the research

Powers of the criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 - consolidated the provisions on the sentencing of young offenders.

Theft act (1968) didnt really work left gaps in the system - theft act (1978) to plug gaps in the new theft code - taking off without payment for example no paying at a restaurant when finished

• Fraud act (2006) - reformed the law on fraud (criminal)
• Land registration act (2002) - which modernised and simplification the method of registering land (civil)
• Corporate manslaughter and corporate homicide act (2007)

• The government set it up to look at particular topics of concern to try change the law.
• Often used in disasters such as at hillsborough
• Consist of experts and ordinary people often headed by judges
• For example the royal commission on criminal procedure 1981 -passing of PACE 1984

Its a permanent body that issues report on a variety of criminal law - BUT not met since 1985

• Part time body made up of judges lawyers and academics
• Only look at civil law abduction suggests reforms
• Eg occupiers liability act 1957
• It lacks research facilities but it is permanently funded by the lord chancellors department

• High average sucess rate and enjoyed great success in its first ten years - 85% proposals made law
• The work of the law commission has lead to some very important new acts of parliament
• The law commission has been successful in repealing old laws
• The law comission has successfully consolidated some areas of statute law

• The law commission had had a much lower success rate in some decades
• It has been quite unsuccessful in codifying areas of law
• Parliament is not necessarily very interested in legislation - it doesn't gain them votes
• There may not be enough time to legislate
• The law commission has limited resources resources
• Very little reform of the criminal law - very few reports implemented
• In 1990 no law commission reports were enacted which shows either lack of need for law reform or lack of parliamentary time/interest
• Overall the success rate has dropped from 85% to 50% showing proposals are less relevent