The Gazette 1994

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G A Z E T TE

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

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 Other areas, related to law reform, which the Government should examine are:- • The repeal of ancient and outdated legislation from our statute books.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. •

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

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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