A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions, ...

; that is, to consider the state of laws in a

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. Jur ...

and make recommendations or proposals for legal changes or restructuring. The first term is prevalent in the United Kingdom, the second is prevalent in the Commonwealth, and the third one is prevalent in the United States.

Work

The functions of a law commission body 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revised versions of confusing laws, preparing consolidated versions of laws, making recommendations on updating outdated laws and making recommendations on repealing obsolete or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 law In British law and in some related legal systems, an enactment is spent if it is "exhausted in operation by the accomplishment of the purposes for which it was enacted". United Kingdom The scope of Statute Law Revision Bills includes the repeal ...

s. Law commissions often undertake projects focusing on legislation, although their mandates may be narrower or broader.

List of law commissions

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

*: the

Law Commission of Canada The Law Commission of Canada was an independent law commission that gave advice to the Canadian government on matters of law. The body was created in 1971 as the Law Reform Commission of Canada and was disbanded in 1992. The body was reestablished ...

was established by the Law Commission of Canada Act on July 1, 1997 and was eliminated in 2006. It replaced the Law Reform Commission of Canada, which was created in 1971 and was dissolved in 1993 by the

Mulroney government The Twenty-Fourth Canadian Ministry was the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. It governed Canada from 17 September 1984 to 25 June 1993, including the 33rd Canadian Parliament and most of the 34th. The government was formed ...

. On September 25, 2006, funding to the Commission was eliminated by the

Harper government The premiership of Stephen Harper began on February 6, 2006, when the first Cabinet headed by Stephen Harper was sworn in by Governor General Michaelle Jean. Harper was invited to form the 28th Canadian Ministry and become Prime Minister of ...

. **:

Alberta Law Reform Institute Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Terri ...

**:

British Columbia Law Institute British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, formed to replace the British Columbia Law Reform Commission, which had been disbanded due to lack of funding **:

Manitoba Law Reform Commission , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

**: Law Reform Commission of Nova Scotia **: Law Commission of Ontario **: –

Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...

Fiji Law Reform Commission The Fiji Law Reform Commission is independent publicly funded commission, which helps develop and review legislation in Fiji. The Fiji Law Reform Commission Act established the Commission in 1979, to serve as an advisory body to the government a ...

*: Samoa Law Reform Commission, established under the

Law Reform Commission Act 2008 Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong The law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has its foundation in the English common law system, inherited from being a former British colony and dependent territory. There are several sources of law, the primary ones being statute ...

, established in 1980 *:

Law Commission of India Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. The Commission's function is to research and advise the Government of India on legal reform, and is composed of legal experts, and headed by a reti ...

*: Bangladesh - Law Commission of Bangladesh established in 1976. *: The

Law Reform Commission A law commission, law reform commission, or law revision commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal chang ...

, established under the

Law Reform Commission Act 1975 The Irish Law Reform Commission was established undeof th Activities The Commission an independent body which examines areas of the law and proposes reforms or changes. Most of their recommendations are adopted through legislation. According t ...

*
Jersey Law Commission
established by the States of Jersey in 1996 *:

Nepal Law Commission Nepal Law Commission is a statutory body formed in order to draft laws, conduct legal research and initiate legal reforms in Nepal. Background The Nepal Law Commission (NLC) was first constituted by an executive decision in 1953, immediately after ...

established by the Nepal Law Commissions Act 2007 *:

New Zealand Law Commission New Zealand's Law Commission was established in 1986 by the Law Commission Act 1985. The Commission is an independent Crown entity as defined in the Crown Entities Act 2004. The main objective of the Law Commission, as declared in its founding ...

established by the Law Commission Act 1985 *:

Nigerian Law Reform Commission Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

South African Law Reform Commission The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) is a law reform commission which investigates the state of South African law and makes proposals for its reform to Parliament and the provincial legislatures. It is an independent advisory statutory ...

Uganda Law Reform Commission }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The souther ...

, established by Article 248 of the Ugandan Constitution * **

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

: The Law Commission **

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

: the

Scottish Law Commission The Scottish Law Commission is an advisory non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government. It was established in 1965 to keep Scots law under review and recommend necessary reforms to improve, simplify and update the country's legal sy ...

, established by the

Law Commissions Act 1965 The Law Commissions Act 1965 (1965 c. 22) was an Act which created the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission, tasked with reviewing English and Scots law respectively. Background During the Victorian era, successiv ...

at the same time as the Law Commission in England and Wales **

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, the

Northern Ireland Law Commission The Northern Ireland Law Commission was a Law Commission in Northern Ireland created under section 50 of the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002, implementing recommendations following the Good Friday Agreement. It replaced the non-statutory L ...

(formerly the Law Reform Advisory Committee) was established in 2007, but has been "non-operational" since 2015. **Other bodies concerned with law reform in the United Kingdom included the Law Revision Committee (1934 to 1939) and the

Law Reform Committee The Law Reform Committee was a committee in England and Wales appointed by the Lord Chancellor "to consider, having regard especially to judicial decisions, what changes are desirable in such legal doctrines as the Lord Chancellor may from time to ...

(1952 - ) The Solicitors Journal. 1952. Volume 96. Page 285. *:

Office of the Law Revision Counsel The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives prepares and publishes the United States Code, which is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. ...

of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

California Law Revision Commission The California Law Revision Commission (CLRC) is an independent California state agency responsible for recommending reforms of state law. Duties The CLRC makes recommendations to the California State Legislature to correct defects in California ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

: New York Law Revision Commission **

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

: New Jersey Law Revision Commission

References

{{Reflist

External links

Scottish Law CommissionLaw Commission of CanadaBritish Columbia Law InstituteLaw Reform Commission of SaskatchewanCalifornia Law Revision CommissionLaw Commission of OntarioNepal Law CommissionSouth Africa Law Reform CommissionLaw Commission of Bangladesh
Law reform

Work

List of law commissions

See also

References

External links