166 / 336
Law Reform Commission Bill 1975
All stages of this Bill were taken in the Seanad on
10th April, 1975. The Attorney General (Mr. Declan
Costello, S.C.) in introducing the second stage, made
the following points:—
(1) He was glad that Standing Orders had been
amended to enable the Attorney-General to speak in
the Seanad.
(2) The Law Reform Commission contemplated by
this bill will be a permanent independent body which
will prepare from time to time programmes of Law
Reform and will arrange to carry out the necessary
research; it may also consider specific points of law
which may be referred to it from time to time. It will
have freedom to regulate its own procedures, and will
probably establish working parties to prepare reports,
and will circulate consultative documents. This con-
sultation process will help to ensure wide and rapid
acceptance of its procedures, and the inclusion of draft
Bills in its reports will aleviate unnecessary delays.
Unlike other Commissions established by various
Governments, this permanent Commission will ensure
that measures of Law Reform will be enacted in the
shortest possible time.
(3) Many aspects of our law relating to the Family,
to Landlord and Tenant, to the relationship of Master
and Employee, the law of Torts and to the Criminal
Law require urgent reform. This Commission is similar
to those established by the English Act of 1965, the
Canadian Act of 1971 and the Australian Act of 1973.
It is hoped that persons with special knowledge and
experience will serve on Committees. Law reform
entails not only updating or amending laws but also
modifications and consolidation. This Act will by order
be established as soon as the Government have
appointed the 5 Commissioners. To be appointed a
Commississioner, a person must normally be an
experienced Judge, barrister, solicitor or academic
lawyer. If he can be of assistance, a non-lawyer can be
appointed. If a Judge is appointed a Commissioner he
does not thereby cease to be a Judge, but, while he is
a Law Commissioner a qualified person may be
appointed as Judge in his place. Normally the Com-
mission will be appointed for 5 years, but the.detailed
length of appointment and the terms and conditions
of appointment are not set out but have to be approved
by the Minister for the Public Service.
(4) The Commission has the general responsibility
of keeping the law under review, which ensures a
systematic approach to law reform, and in particular
which priorities are necessary. Programmes are to be
drawn up in consultation with the Attorney-General
as the Law Officer of the Government. The grants to
be paid every year to the Commission will be such
amounts as the Minister for Finance, on the recom-
mendation of the Attorney General, may consider
necessary. The staff of the Commission, including pa:t-
time, will be appointed directly by it. The super-
annuation provisions of the members of the Com-
mission are the customary ones attached to such
posts, and Section 13 specifically forbids a member of
the Commission from being a member of the
Oireachtas. Service as a Commissioner will be deemed
practice at the Bar or practice as a solicitor for the
purpose of judicial appointment.
Senator Eoin Ryan welcomed the Bill and said: He
was pleased that the maximum consultation with all
who could help including academics would take place
with those interested in Law Reform. He was glad
that Consolidation was playing an important part in
law reform; its values cannot be overstressed. If, as a
result of a Supreme * Court decision or Community
legislation, the law required to be amended, he hoped
it would be undertaken quickly. He hoped that rules
in regard to the way in which the drafting of bills
would be introduced would be adhered to. It would
be useful at the end of Ac ts to set out a Schedule of
Acts which have been amended or repealed by the new
legislation.
Senator Alexis Fitzgerald in welcoming the Bill said:
Our record with regard to Law Reform was deplorable.
For instance the 1972 Report and Draft Bill of the
Bankruptcy Law Committee, which took 10 years
to complete, has not yet been implemented. The
Committee on Court Practice and Procedure has pre-
sented 19 Reports, of which only 3 have been adopted.
Such matters as the service of court documents by
post, a sweeping re-organisation of the District and
Circuit Courts, an extension of on-the-spot fines, etc.,
have been put on the long finger. Apart from that, there
is the Kennedy Report on Juvenile Offenders and the
National
Consumer
Advisory
Council
Report.
Different Ministers for Justice as Ministers of the
Interior have been too fully engrossed with security
problems to bother about Law Reform. Because the
Community was dealing with Harmonisation of
Bankruptcy Law, the reform of Bankruptcy law has
been unnecessarily delayed. The Attorney General is
to be commended for seeking the aid of sociologists,
psychologists and economists, as well as lawyers. The
law should be amended to enable a person, who only
knows he is injured after the limitation period has
expired, to sue.
Senator Brian Lenehan in welcoming the Bill said:
There are many reports on aspects of Law Reform in
the archives of the Department of Justice which he
hoped would be transferred to the Commission. He
hoped that most of the Reports of the Committee on
Court Practice and Procedure could be put into effect
rapidly. Before embarking on new measures of law
reform, the Commission should endeavour to have
enacted the draft measures that are already available.
He hoped the Commission would publish with their
recommendations uncontroversial draft bills which
could be rapidly enacted into law.
Senator Professor Mary Robinson in welcoming the
bill said: She blamed not only the lawyers for the
little interest they had taken in Law Reform but also
the University Law Schools. She commended the com-
prehensive analysis of law reform contained in Farrar's
"Law Reform and the Law Comission", recently pub-
lished. She commended the Commission for having
power to draw up programmes of Law Reform, and
164