Law Making

Law Reform
Objectives
• Explain the ways in which Parliament can change the law.

• Explain judicial influences in changing the law.

• Identify the various pressure groups for reform.

• Explain the role of agencies of law reform.

• Evaluate the role and performance of law reform bodies.

• Discuss the problems with law reform agencies.

 Law reform

Legal systems cannot stand still and must adapt, there are a
range of ways of bringing change:

What ways can you think of that bring about change?

• Judicial change.
• Reform by Parliament
• Pressure groups
• Law reform agencies.
Judicial change

R v R ( 1991)

Should the courts / judges be making such important

changes to the law as seen in R v R?
Reform by Parliament

Most of law reform is carried out by

Parliament – 4 ways:

1. Repeal

2. Creation of a new law

3. Consolidation

4. Codification e.g. Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984

Pressure Groups

What pressure groups can you think of?

1. Charities e.g. Shelter, Child Poverty Action

2. Professional bodies such as the GMC
3. JUSTICE
4. Greenpeace, CND
Pressure Groups

Q. If you were a member of a Pressure group how would you go about

campaigning for a change in the law?

• Publicity.
• Petitions.
• Lobbying MPs.
• Demonstrations.
• Writing to MPs/ Ministers.

Snowdrop Petition (Dunblane) managed to persuade the

Government to ban most types of handguns .
Other pressures for change
• Public opinion

• Media pressure/ campaigns e.g. Stephen Lawrence;

‘naming and shaming’ paedophiles

• Treaty obligations influence changes in our law

• Other political parties

• The civil service

Law reform agencies

The Law Commission

• Set up in 1965

• 5 people from - judiciary, legal profession and legal

academics, assisted by legally qualified civil servants
Law reform agencies

The Law Commissions Act 1965

Law Commission’s task is to:

• Codify the law;

• Remove anomalies in the law;
• Repeal obsolete and unnecessary legislation;
• Consolidate the law;
• Simplify and modernise the law.

Commission publishes a consultation paper and final

recommendations are set out in a report with a draft Bill.
Law reform agencies

The Criminal Law Revision Committee

• CLRC – considers reforms to the criminal law

• Members include the DPP, judges and academics

• CLRC has not convened since 1985.

Law reform agencies

Royal Commissions

• Royal Commissions study particular areas of law reform

• Independent and non- political made up of a variety of people

• Final report – up to Government to act on recommendations

or not

Examples include:
• 1981 Royal Commission on Criminal Procedure
• Royal Commission on Reform of the House of Lords 2000 .
Law reform agencies
Public Inquiries
One-off temporary committee.

Examples include:

• Hillsborough football stadium disaster

• Sinking of Herald of Free Enterprise
• Stephen Lawrence
• Railway accidents
• Test tube babies
• BSE crisis
• Conviction of Harold Shipman
• Inquiry into suicide of Dr David Kelly.
Law reform agencies

Temporary Inquiries

• Government departments sometimes set up temporary projects into a

specific area of law;

e.g.

Lord Woolf’s inquiry into the Civil Justice System.

Have law reform agencies been successful?

• The Law Commission – Codification has not been very successful.

• CLRC – The Theft Acts 1968 and 1978 – seen as CLRC greatest
achievement, however a string of miscarriages of justice in the
1970s.

• Royal Commissions – mixed results.

• Public Inquiries – rely on political will - R (on the application of

Gentle) v the Prime Minister (2006) and effects of the Inquiries Act
2005.
Problems with law reform agencies

• Very little power

• No obligation on Governments to follow recommendations and proposals may be drastically altered

• Little influence over how proposals are put into practice

• Agencies tend to compromise too much

• Waste of expertise – once disbanded they play no further role in the law-making process

• No single Government ministry for law reform.

Test yourself
1. What are the four main ways in which Parliament can change the law?

2. Give 3 examples of pressure groups.

3. In what year was the Law Commission set up?

4. What do the initials CLRC stand for?

5. State 3 problems with law reform agencies.

Do Now Activities
1. What do you think of campaigns by various newspapers to
name and shame paedophiles? Discuss your opinions and
research with the class.

2. Visit the Law Commission website and chose an area of law

that you are studying or will study, find a report that has been
prepared in this field and summarise 3 of its recommendations.

3. Visit the Home Office website and read the Macpherson report
into the death of Stephen Lawrence - discuss whether you
think this inquiry has been effective in reforming the English
legal system.
Useful Websites

www.gov.uk

www.lawcom.gov.uk