LAW REFORM BY THE LAW COMMISSION

by what act was the law commission set up by

Law Commission Act 1965

who does the LC consist of (5)

• a chairperson

• a high court judge

• four other Law Comissioners who are experts in certain areas of law

there are also researchers and craftsmen who prepare proposed bills

where do the LC get their powers from?

the LC act 1965 and then LC act 2009

what do the LC do? (3)

consider areas of the law that they believe need to be reformed

• sometimes they get these areas from the government (they ask LC to look at something) or LC decide to look at an area of law

• they consult relevant parties and produce a report

• look at problems in law and make really good suggestions

what is included in the LCs report

in their report they often present a draft bill and present it to parliament

what do they want to do? (3)

• repeal the law

• codify the law

• consolidate the law

what does repealing the law include + fact (2)

• they remove/get rid of laws (particularly old/out of date laws) that are old, unnecessary and irrelevant

• by 2015, there had been 19 statute law (repeals) acts, and the whole of 3000 old acts had been repealed

what does consolidation of the law mean? + fact and act example

• means having 1 act instead of multiple, so only statutes

• like the Bail Act 1976, amended by the Bail Act 1993, and in more recent acts they have mentioned changes to Bail as well.

• the LC produces about 4 consolidation bills a year

what does codification of the law mean? + act example

• for the OAPA 1861, you have cases as well, like Chanfook- mental harm is ABH, and Dica- HIV is GBH.

• so its just putting them all into one act so the law is more understandable

• can be statutes and act combining

what may the lord chancellor ask the LC to do?

to look at certain areas of law- LC do their research, consultation (paper) and proposals for reform will be presented to parliament

what are some acts that have come from the LC -success (3)

• corporate manslaughter act 2007: made it much easier to prosecute managing directors/shareholders of a company if somebody died

• coroners injustice act 2009: changed special defences to murder, provocation → loss of control (and made it a stricter defence)

• consumer rights act 2015: consolidated several other acts.