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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 1994
Law Re form - A Gove rnment
Pr ior i ty at al l Times?
In a modern changing society
legislation may quickly become
outdated if it does not adequately reflect
the present needs of society. A constant
review of our legislation through law
reform is therefore essential.
To help Government in this task the
Law Reform Commission was
established in 1975 to "keep the law
under review" and "formulate
proposals for law reform". Since 1975
the Law Reform Commission has
published 46 reports. A number of the
reports have resulted in important
changes to our legislation. To its credit,
the present Government has created a
Department of Law Reform, however,
there are many reports which have not
been acted upon by successive
Governments for no apparent reason.
We would like to highlight some of
these non-controversial reports, the
recommendations of which, if enacted
into law, would cost the Exchequer
very little and in some cases would
actually result in extra revenue for the
Exchequer. We set out some of these
reports below:-
Reports on Land Law and
Conveyancing Law
(Nos. 1 to 5,
LRC 30-1989; 31-1989; 39-1991; 40-
1991; 44-1992).
Some recommenda-
tions in these reports have been
enacted but the majority has not. A
number of the recommendations
would result in technical amendments
to our conveyancing laws which
would simplify and help expedite
conveyancing transactions. One of
the reports also recommends
legislation providing for enduring
Powers of Attorney which are
urgently required to prevent elderly
people from being made Wards of
Court as a result of becoming senile.
This legislation is promised in the
Programme for Government.
Report on the Hague Convention
1989 on the Law of Succession to
Estates of Deceased Persons
(LRC
36-1991).
The Law Reform
Commission recommends the
adoption of the convention. It has
also made recommendations
elsewhere for amending the
Succession Act, 1965 which needs
to be updated after nearly 30 years
on the statute books.
Report on Oaths and Affirmations
(LRC 34-1990)
recommends
replacing the oath with an
affirmation in court proceedings and
affidavits.
Debt Collection: (i) The Law
Relating to Sheriffs
(LRC 27-
1988)
recommends,
inter alia,
simplifying and updating our
legislation to help creditors recover
monies from debtors.
The Indexation of Fines
(LRC 27-
1988)
recommends,
inter alia,
the
indexation of fines which would be
an obvious benefit to the Exchequer.
The Law Relating to Dishonesty
(LRC 43-1992)
recommends
legislation similar to the English
Theft Act 1968, to legislate for,
inter alia,
the dishonest use of a
cheque, credit card or computer and
to update the law on forgery and
counterfeiting.
Other areas, related to law reform,
which the Government should
examine are:-
• The repeal of ancient and outdated
legislation from our statute books.
• The consolidation of statutes
dealing with the same subject, such
as the licensing laws, which have
numerous Acts dating back as far as
1833. (At present, the Law Reform
Commission is, in fact, examining
the licensing legislation).
• The codification of suitable areas of
our law. Codification of laws is
already carried out in all EU
Member States apart from Ireland
and the UK. In addition, the United
States, another common law
country, has codified its criminal
law in its Model Penal Code.
It is undoubtedly the case that in
Ireland law reform has not achieved a
high level of legislative priority.
Despite the work that goes into the
publication of a final report of the
Law Reform Commission (i.e.
analysis of the existing law, extensive
comparative research of the position
in other jurisdictions, preparation of a
consultation paper, discussions with
relevant interested parties, preparation
of final proposals for reform), a report
from the Commission has only the
same status as any other proposal for
legislation.
The Law Commission in England and
Wales reports to the Lord Chancellor
who is entitled to introduce legislation
in Parliament. In Ireland the Law
Reform Commission reports to the
Attorney General who is not entitled
to introduce legislation. This means
that the recommendations of a LRC
report have to follow the same
procedure as any other proposal for
legislation i.e. Heads of a Bill are
prepared, submitted to Government
for approval in principle, then
circulated to various Government
departments, before the final Bill is
prepared. Speedier implementation of
reports might be achieved if relevant
Government departments were
required to make comments on Law
Reform Commission consultation
papers
in advance
of the preparation
of the final report and if this were to
be taken as appropriate consultation
with them on proposed legislation.
•
ARAB LAWS:
Established London Barrister with Contacts
Available for Advice on Construction /
Commercial Agreements / Disputes
Negotiations / Marriage & Probate.
International Law Chambers:
Tel: (
0044-71 221 5684)
Fax:
(0044-71 221 5685
)
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