From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Law Commission, or Law Reform Commission, is an independent body set up by a government to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations on those laws. Their functions include drafting revised versions of confusing laws, preparing consolidated versions of laws, making recommendations on updating outdated laws and making recommendations on repealing obsolete or spent laws. In British Columbia, the British Columbia Law Institute is an independent body that performs similar functions but was not set up by the government.

In England and Wales the Law Commission is an independent body set up by Parliament in 1965 to keep the law of England and Wales under review and recommend necessary reforms. It is headed by five full-time Law Commissioners, with (as of 2006) The Hon. Mr Justice Etherton, a High Court judge, as Chairman.

The Law Commission chooses an area of law to review and publishes a consultation paper to solicit views from interested parties. It then publishes a report recommending any changes to that area of law, for example codification of the common law (derived from case law) or consolidation or revision of statute law, often including draft legislation. At any one time, approximately 20 areas are under review, but in many cases its reports are ignored or only partially implemented.

Similar bodies keep the law under review in other jurisdictions:

• in Scotland, the Scottish Law Commission, established by the Law Commissions Act 1965 at the same time as the Law Commission in England and Wales
• in Hong Kong the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong established in 1980
• in Northern Ireland, the Law Reform Advisory Committee was established in April 1989 by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Tom King
• in Canada, the Law Commission of Canadaestablished by the Law Commission of Canada Act on July 1, 1997, replacing the Law Reform Commission of Canada which had been dissolved in 1993 by the Mulroney government. On September 25, 2006, funding to the Commission was removed by the Harper government, although the Act establishing the commission has not been repealed.
• in Alberta, the Alberta Law Reform Institute
• in British Columbia, the British Columbia Law Institute, which was formed to replace the British Columbia Law Reform Commission which had been disbanded due to lack of funding
• in Manitoba, the Manitoba Law Reform Commission
• in Nova Scotia, the Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia
• in Ontario, the Ontario Law Reform Commission
• in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Law Reform Commission
• in New Zealand, the Law Commissionestablished by the Law Commission Act 1985
• in Australia, the Australian Law Reform Commission
• in Fiji, the Fiji Law Reform Commission

• Law reform

• Law Commission
• Scottish Law Commission
• Law Commission of Canada
• British Columbia Law Institute