law reform - pressure groups, law commission, & advisory committees

What are pressure groups

Organisations that seek to influence the direction of law on the basis of their members views

What are interest groups & example

They represent a particular section of society

British Medical Association (BMA)

What are cause groups & example

Based on shared attitudes or values rather than common interests, they seek to advance various cases like charity, education, & environment

World wide fund for nature (WWF)

What are 7 methods used by pressure groups

Lobbying MP’s

Protests marches

Letter writing

Petitions

Celebrities

Media

What are 5 strengths of pressure groups

Enhance & encourage democracy

Raise awareness

Specialist knowledge can inform gov

Enhance freedom of expression (A10) & protest (A11)

Highlights issues

What are 4 limitations of pressure groups

One-sided views

Not elected but can influence gov, undemocratic

May use direct action

Views can be distorted & not based on research

What is the composition of the law commission

The only full-time law reform body

Comprised of

Who assists the law commission

Legally qualified civil servants

Research assistance who are often law graduates

What is S3 of the law commission act 1965

The la commissions role is to codify, eliminate anomalies, repeal unnecessary law, & simplify modern law

What is the law commission act 2009

The lord chancellor must tell parliament each year whether the gov implemented any of the law commissions proposals & if not, why not

This reduces time & resources required to implement non-controversial LC bills

They won’t take on a project without an undertaking from the relevant gov minister that theres a serious intention to reform the law

How has the law commission been successful

Its first 20 reform programmes were enacted within 2 years - occupiers liability act 1984

Within 10 years its success rate was 85%

Repealed 2000 absolute statutes

How has the law commission been unsuccessful

From the late 1970’s only 50% of their proposals became law

Gov failed to respond to codifying criminal law in 1989 & 2003

2020-2021 7 reports awaited implication

What are advisory committees

Temporary law reform bodies set up to research, consult, & propose laws on a particular issue or following a tragedy or because of advances in science & technology that need to be reflected in law

What are royal committees

Set up by gov to investigate a specific issue, once the report has been issued it’s disabled

What is an example of a royal committee & the law they reformed

Philiips commission - police & criminal evidence act 1984

What are public inquiries

Set up as a response to a significant event, they examine options for law change when the gov fails

What is the inquires act 2005

3 questions can be asked:

What happened

Why did it happen & who is to blame

What can be done to prevent it from happening again

2 examples of public inquires leading to law reform

Stephan Lawrence inquiries

Leveson inquiry