The role of the Law Society

The makeup of the Law Society

The Law Commission was established by the Law Commission Act 1965. It consists of a chairperson, a high court judge, and four other law commissioners who are experts in their areas of law. These are supported by researchers and draftspersons who prepare proposed bills.

The role of the law commission

As set out in section 3 of the 1965 Act

• To review areas of law

• To codify and consolidate the law

• To repeal unnecessary laws

• To simplify and modernise laws

How the Law Commission works

1. They choose or are referred by the government an are of the law in need of reform.

2. They research the area in question

3. They publish a consultation paper seeking views from academics and the public on possible avenues to reform

4. The Commission will then draw up the proposals for reform to be presented in a research paper with a draft bill often being attached for parliament to discuss

The repealing of bills

If it is felt a bill has become outdated or unnecessary the Commission will research it and then, if they find as such, will propose a repeals bill for these to be removed. By 2015 3000 old acts have been removed. This helps clean up the statute book making the law more accessible.

Consolidation

This is where the Law Commission draws together a messy area of law into one, accessible statute. For example the Sentencing Act 2020 replaced 4 previous statutes that had different areas of sentencing enclosed.

Codification

This brings common law and statute together to create an improved level of consistency making the legal system more predictable and accessible. This was also done in the sentencing act 2020 as sentencing decisions made in common law were brough in too.

The Success of the law commission

While the Commission has not hit all objectives in terms of codifying the law it has had many proposals accepted including the Occupier’s liability act 1984 and Fraud Act 2006. However, parliament has lost interest in technical law reform and now makes less time for it with 12 proposals still not having been reviewed by parliament.

Advantages of the Law Commission as an influence on Law Reform

• The changes are fully researched by legal professionals who also provide a draft bill meaning there is no need for delay

• It is politically independent with the only aim being for law reform

• It simplifies the law by repealing statutes

Disadvantages of the Law Commission as an influence on Law Reform

• Parliament is not concerned with technical law reform as it doesn’t drive public support so doesn’t look into it.

• The government is not bound to implementing their proposals

• The government does not have to consult them before passing a law