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Influences on Parliament – The Law Commission Influences on Parliament – The Law Commission

Influences on Parliament – The Law Commission - PowerPoint Presentation

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Influences on Parliament – The Law Commission - PPT Presentation

What is the Law Commission Established by the Law Commission Act 1965 Permanent and independent A fulltime staff headed up by five Commissioners Chairperson is a High Court Judge ID: 552061

commission law parliament act law commission act parliament reform government influences laws time draft questions bill repeal area research

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Slide1

Influences on Parliament – The Law Commission Slide2

What is the Law Commission?

Established by the Law Commission Act 1965Permanent and independent A full-time staff headed up by

five CommissionersChairperson is a

High Court Judge

– responsible for promoting the work of the Commission and is its public face and voice

Other four members are from the

legal professions and academic lawyers

All staff are

legally trained

Aim of Law Commission

- S3(1

) Law Commission Act 1965

– role of Commission is to “keep under review all the law

”Slide3

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Codification

Codification is bringing together all of the law (both statutory and case law) on a particular topic into a

single Act of Parliament

Draft Criminal Code

was published in

1989

but has never become

law

The Commission

has gradually accepted that its initial plans were

over-ambitious

and that

codification of smaller areas is preferable

E.g

.

The Land Registration Act 2002

and the

Fraud Act 2006

have been reformed in this waySlide4

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Consolidation

Drawing together all the statutory provisions relating to a particular area into one Act

(i.e not case law)About 5 Consolidation Bills produced each year

E.g. –

Education Act 1996

and

The Powers of Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000Slide5

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Repeal

Recommends the repeal of obsolete statutes – removing laws that have no further use

Important to remove these Acts as they make research of the law more time-consuming and cause

confusion

Statute Law (Repeals) Bill in 2012

recommended the repeal of nearly

800

old lawsSlide6

How the Law Commission Influences Parliament – Law Reform

It is also necessary to suggest changes to existing laws and to create new areas of law in response to social change and technical developments

E.g. – Occupiers’ Liability Act 1984 made occupiers of land responsible for injury to trespassers while on their land,

Computer Misuse Act 1990

deals with the problem of computer hackingSlide7

The Process of Law Commission Investigations

Commission has topics referred to it by government departments, or may select a topic of its own, which will be considered after the

government has approved

Pressure

to investigate an area of law may also come from other sources – e.g.

Criminal Attempts Act 1981

was a result of a Law Commission report prompted by

academic pressure

Process:

Research

of the issue

Produce a

working paper

setting out the current law, the problems, and suggestions for reform

Consultations

with anyone interested in commenting on the issue

Produce a

report

including a

draft Bill

Government decides

whether to introduce the draft Bill into Parliament and implement the recommendations

E.g

. – legislation which has resulted from this process includes the

Law Reform (Year and a Day Rule) Act

1996Slide8

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

A

permanent non-political full-time body

and can investigate any area of law it believes to be in need of reform –

independent of the Government

Reduces

the workload for

ministers -

Produces

draft Bills

ready for Parliament to

introduce

Responsible

for many sensible changes to the law

– e.g.

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977

, the

Fraud Act 2006 and the abolition of the ‘Year and a Day’ ruleCan undertake extensive research and engage in wide consultation so its recommendations for law reform are well informed and this helps avoid problems with the application of the law

Disadvantages

Parliament has often ignored the Commission’s proposals

- only about

two thirds

of its proposals have been implemented – often because governments

cannot find time

in the legislative programme for non-urgent law reform –

e.g.

reform of the law on non-fatal offences

– recommended by the Law Commission in a report in 1993 and accepted by the Labour government of 1997 who produced a draft Bill in 1998 but they never implemented it

Further lack of power

shown by the fact that

Government does not need to consult with the Commission on any new laws

Investigates as many as 20-30 areas at the same time

– may mean that each investigation is not as thorough as one carried out by a

Royal Commission

or a

Commission of InquirySlide9

Types of questions you could be asked

Describe the influence of the Law Commission on Parliament (10 marks)Briefly discuss advantages and disadvantages of the influence of the Law Commission on Parliament (10 marks)Slide10

Answering Exam Questions

Describe/Explain questions:Explain how they influence law making – use examples of statutes (laws) created/reformed as a result of the Law Commission Evaluation questions:Explain why the particular point is an advantage or disadvantage

Use evidence and examples of successes and failures