Law reform.txt

    • author "me"
    • fileName "Law reform"
    • tags ""
    • description ""
    • Who changes the law
    • Ministerial departments
    • Precedent
    • Public opinion
    • Pressure groups
    • Law reform agencies
  1. The law commission (general info)
    • Independent
    • Full time
    • Permanent
    • 5 full time comissioners - chairman high court judge
    • Set up by the law commission act 1965
  2. The law comission duties
    • 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.
  3. Law comission procedure
    • 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
  4. Example of consolidation
    Powers of the criminal courts (sentencing) act 2000 - consolidated the provisions on the sentencing of young offenders.
  5. Example of codification
    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
  6. Other cases by law commission
    • 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)
  7. Royal commission
    • 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
  8. Criminal law revision committee
    Its a permanent body that issues report on a variety of criminal law - BUT not met since 1985
  9. Law reform committee
    • 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
  10. Sucesses of law commission
    • 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
  11. Failure of the law commission
    • 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
Author
toricazaly
ID
220190
Card Set
Law reform.txt
Description
sources of law
Updated