The Gazette 1987

JULY/ A UGUST

1987

GAZETTE

Law Reform Commission

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The reform of conveyancing law and practice in areas where this would lead to savings for house purchasers. Sexual offences generally, including the law relating to rape and child sexual abuse. The law relating to Sheriffs, the collection of taxes and debt collection. A number of issues relating to compensation in personal injury cases. Various criminal law matters, including sentencing policy, indexation of fines, con- fiscating the proceeds of crime and updating a number of offences which are still governed by 19th century legislation. There is unlikely to be any controversy as to the pressing need for reforms in all these areas, although there will naturally be dif- ferent views as to how they should be tackled. They raise problems which affect people acutely in their daily lives and they are areas in which the law is universally regard- ed as being in many serious respects out of date, inefficient and even unjust. The Commission believe that the choice of specific areas where the need for reform is urgent and widely accepted signals a new and important departure in the approach to law reform in general and the work of this Com- mission in particular. Thus, the newspapers, radio and television give daily and horrific testimony to the scale of the pro- blem of sexual offences in our society. The individual Commis- sioners who have already under- taken work in this area are in no doubt as to the gravity of the pro- blems of child sexual abuse. Again, in the criminal law area, one does not have to be a Judge, Lawyer or Social Worker to know the scale of the problem: it affects society to an extent unthinkable t wen ty or thirty years ago. As for the pro- blems of conveyancing, a growing number of people who buy their own homes encounter delays, frustration and expense which they find inexplicable and at times traumatic. In the area of debt col- lection, too, delays and frustration appear to be almost endemic in the system and nowhere is this more

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The following are slightly shortened versions of the Address by the Taoiseach, Mr. Charles J. Haughey, T.D., at a Press Reception on Thursday, 23rd April, 1987, at 4.00p.m. to mark the appointment of the new members of The Law Reform Commission, and of the Reply by Mr. Justice Ronan Keane, President of the Commission.

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political direction or pressure as to the content of its reports would find difficult. It is essential that a spirit of co- operation exist be tween the Government, who must be able to influence the direction of the Commi ss i on 's ac t i v i t i es and priorities, and the Commission itself, wh i ch will have the responsibility of bringing forward proposals for specific reform measures. I believe that we can achieve this w i t hout compromising, in any way, the independence of the Commission in the contents of its reports. A major challenge facing the Commission is the pressure for results. I know that complex legal issues call for mature and considered examination. Never- theless, I would like to see what might be done to expedite particular reforms by revising the procedures under which the Com- mission operates. It might for instance be appropriate to be selective and concentrate on a smaller range of issues to facilitate early publication of recommen- dations in particular areas or assign priorities as between these areas. I know that the President and members of the Commission will be giving serious consideration to their programme and procedures and related matters in the months ahead and I would like to wish t hem every success in their endeavours. Mr . Jus t i ce Ronan Keane's reply: When the new Commissioners were appointed, they were asked by the then Attorney General to review as a matter of urgency certain areas of law. These were:

The Taoiseach's Address I am pleased to have the oppor- t un i ty to we l come the new members of the Law Reform Com- mission and to congratulate them on their appointment. They have a d i f f i cu lt and complex task ahead of them and I would like to assure them of my own support and that of my Government in their work, which we see as being of major impo r t ance and significance. Over twenty-five years ago, as Minister for Justice at the time, I published a White Paper on law reform. This arose from my belief that an important function of Government is to ensure that the law is just and equitable, that it re- flects our traditions and is updated to correspond to social and economic change. To this end it was essential that the different branches of the law be examined at regular intervals, reviewed and reformed. This belief is even stronger today. It is a feature of a complex modern society that the volume of laws enacted continues to rise in- exorably. Governments tend to be preoccupied with pressing day to day policy and administrative issues and the bulk of legislation placed on the statute books re- flects this. It is difficult for a Government to find the time or the resources to stand back, as it were, and take a detailed and detached look at the impact of this rapidly growing body of law on our legal and social structures. The Law Reform Commission, having an independent standing, is a very suitable body to promote a sys t ema t ic and sustained programme of law reform. The Commission can also present a clear view on controversial issues in a way which a body subject to

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