The Work of the British Law Commissions: Law Reform… Now?

Description

The Law Commission (of England and Wales) and the Scottish Law Commission were both established in 1965 to promote the reform of the laws of their respective jurisdictions. Since then, they have each produced hundreds of reports across many areas of law. They are independent of government yet rely on governmental funding and governmental approval of their proposed projects. They also rely on both government and Parliament (and, occasionally, the courts or other bodies) to implement their proposals. This book examines the tension between independence and implementation and recommends how a balance can best be struck. It proposes how the Commissions should choose their projects given that their duties outweigh their resources, and how we should assess the success, or otherwise, of their output. Countries around the world have created law reform bodies in the Commissions’ image. They may wish to reflect on the GB Commissions’ responses to the changes and challenges they have faced to reappraise their own law reform machinery. Equally, the GB Commissions may seek inspiration from other commissions’ experiences. The world the GB Commissions inhabit now is very different from when they were established. They have evolved to remain relevant in the face of devolution, the UK’s changing relationship with the European Union, increasing pressure for accountability and decreasing funding. Further changes to secure the future of independent law reform are advanced in this book. Acknowledgements Table of Contents Table of Cases Table of Legislation Table of GB Commission Material 1 Introduction I. Lifting the Law Reform Bonnet II. Beyond Great Britain III. Overview IV. Some Final Preliminaries 2 The Origins of the Law Commissions I. Pre-1965 II. How Soon is 'Now': Why 1965? III. Pressures for a Scottish Law Commission IV. The Law Commissions Act 1965 V. Consequent Issues 3 The Scope of Commission Activity I. The 1965 Act and Discretion II. The Need to Control and Facilitate the Exercise of Discretion III. Previous Deficiencies in the Control and Facilitation of the Commissions" Exercise of Discretion IV. The Project-Selection Criteria V. Developing and Strengthening the Criteria VI. Conclusion: Clarifying and Securing the Scope of Commission Activity 4 The Extent of Implementation I. Preliminary Issues II. Reasons for Non-Implementation III. The Importance of Being Implemented IV. Attempts to Improve Implementation V. Conclusion: Quality Over Quantity 5 The Codification Task I. Definition of Codification II. Reasons for Tasking the Commissions with Codification III. Pre-Existing Obstacles to Codification IV. Developments Reducing the Need for Codification V. The Commissions' Codification Track Records VI. Conclusion: Substance Over Style 6 From Harmonisation to Devolution and Brexit I. Collaborative Projects II. Individual Projects III. Devolution IV. Conclusion: Separate Commissions Working in Sync 7 Law Reform... Now? I. Servicing our Law Reform Machinery II. Proposed Amendments to the 1965 Act III. Final Remarks for Great Britain and Beyond Appendix 1: GB Chairmen and Commissioners 1965-2016 Appendix 2: Law Commissions Act 1965 with Proposed Amendments Bibliography Index