On 12 April 1796, the Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring was appointed to inspect and consider temporary laws, expired or expiring.[2] The committee reported on 12 May 1796, resolving that it was "highly expedient for the honour of the nation and the benefit of all His Majesty's subjects that a complete and authoritative edition of all the statutes should be published", and publishing a Register of Expiring Laws and a Register of Expired Laws.[2]
Establishment
On 2 November 1876, the House of Commons resolved to appoint a select committee to "consider the most effectual Means of promulgating the Statutes of the Realm; and to report the same, with their Observations, to the House".[3] The committee was instructed to take into consideration the report of the Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring dated 12 May 1796, as relates to the committee's observations and recommendations on promulgation.[3]
Membership
The committee was appointed on 2 November 1796, consisting of 11 members with a quorum of five and the power to "send for persons, papers, and records".[4]
The committee first met on 3 November 1796.[7] The committee reported on 5 December 1796.[7]
The committee addressed the mode of promulgation, remarking that "the only mode in which the statutes are now promulgated is the publication of them by the King's Printer. Your committee have not been able to discover at what precise period of time the statutes of the realm were first printed by public authority, but it appears that the ancient mode of promulgating them by the sheriff's proclamation fell into disuse very soon after the introduction of the art of printing."[7][2] The committee observed that the statutes printed by the King's Printer at the end of each session were collected into volumes, consisting of all public acts and local and personal acts made public by a special clause (except Turnpike Acts). They noted that promulgation was limited to around 1,100 volumes annually, distributed to members of each house of parliament, the privy council and some of the great offices of state.[7]
The committee recommended that "expedition in promulgating public statutes must ever be an important object of attention" and criticised the considerable financial cost and bulk of the statute book.[7]
The committee noted that, in the annual volume of the statutes, local acts declared to be public (for example drainage, bridges, churches, canals etc.) occupying more than double the space of more important public general acts, even when taking into account the practice of the King's Printer of excluding Turnpike Acts.[7][2] Therefore, the committee recommended excluding all local acts, abstracts and repetitions of titles from the Collection of Public Acts.[7]
The committee recommend promulgating the private acts to the house of parliament, recognising the volume and cost of wider distribution.[7]
The committee laid down requirements which every bill ought to be introduced, emphasising the importance prompt and regular printing, of punctuation, numbered sections, marginal notes and stating precisely the duration of temporary acts and commencement dates.[7][8][2] The report also gave some curious instances of errors of typography and punctuation.[2][9]
The committee also published as an appendix documents collected in proof of facts they "thought necessary to ascertain" and preserve.[7]
To authorise and direct His Majesty's Printer to class acts as public, local, and private acts in separate title volumes, numbered separately with one general table of all the acts passed in that session.
That the precise duration of every new temporary law should be expressed in the title of the bill, in a distinct clause at the end of the bill and nowhere else.
That all expired or expiring acts proposed to be revived or continued should be included in one bill, which should express in its title that it is "reviving, or for continuing, the several Statutes therein mentioned" and should include in its title every statute by year, chapter and day of passing, with precise duration.
On 27 April 1797, the resolutions of the committee were considered again, and the House ordered that the resolutions be communicated to the House of Lords at a conference.[4] A committee was appointed to manage the conference, met on 1 May 1797, consisting of 10 members of parliament,[4] and 8 peers.[6]
Following the resolution that "His Majesty's Printer should also be authorized to class the general and the special statutes (viz. the public, local, and private acts) of each session in separate volumes, and to number the chapters of each volume, together with a general table of all the acts passed in that session", the King's Printer adopted the classification for acts passed from the next session (38 Geo. 3) onwards.[11] This led to the distinction now recognised between public general acts, local and personal acts and private acts.[2]
On 22 December 1797, the House of Commons amended the resolutions of the committee, providing that the promulgation of private acts would extend only to private acts in which a clause was inserted expressing that, at the request of persons interested, the act is declared to be a public act.[12] This was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 29 December 1797, and the resolution was referred to the Committee appointed to Consider the Promulgation of the Statutes.[6]
In 1806, the Commission on Public Records passed a resolution requesting the production of a report on the best mode of reducing the volume of the statute book.[2] From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts.[2]
The Interpretation Act 1850, also known as Lord Brougham's Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that simplified the language that was used in statutes.
The Master and Servant Act 1889 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments relating to master and servants from 1702 to 1811 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary.
An Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom is primary legislation passed by the UK Parliament in Westminster, London.
The Chronological Table of the Statutes is a chronological list of the public Acts passed by the Parliament of England (1235–1706), the Parliament of Great Britain (1707–1800), and the Parliament of the United Kingdom, as well as the acts of the old Parliament of Scotland and of the modern Scottish Parliament, and the measures passed by the National Assembly for Wales and by the General Synod of the Church of England. It is produced by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and published by The Stationery Office.
Local and personal acts are laws in the United Kingdom which apply to a particular individual or group of individuals, or corporate entity. This contrasts with a public general Act of Parliament (statute) which applies to the nation-state. Acts of Parliament can afford relief from another law; grant a unique benefit or, grant powers not available under the general law; or, relieve someone from legal responsibility for some allegedly wrongful act.
The Interpretation Act 1889 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated enactments relating to statutory construction and provided definitions to shorten the language used in acts of Parliament.
The Statutes of the Realm is an authoritative collection of acts of the Parliament of England from the earliest times to the Union of the Parliaments in 1707, and acts of the Parliament of Great Britain passed up to the death of Queen Anne in 1714.
Statute law revision may refer to the printing of, or the editorial process of preparing, a revised edition of the statutes, or to the process of repealing obsolete enactments to facilitate the preparation of such an edition, or to facilitate the consolidation of enactments.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1893 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed various United Kingdom enactments from 1837 to 1868 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1863 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for England and Wales enactments from 1235 to 1685 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1867 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1688 to 1770 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1870 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments relating to the National Debt and to forgery which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1874 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1801 to 1837 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1874 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1837 to 1843 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1887 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1275 to 1822 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1890 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed various United Kingdom enactments which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1890 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed various United Kingdom enactments which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the new edition of the revised edition of the statutes, then in progress.
The Customs (Repeal) Act 1833 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed various statutes relating to customs in the United Kingdom.
The Select Committee on the State of Public Records was a select committee of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom appointed to investigate and report on the nature and condition of public records. Recommendations by the committee led to the appointment of the first Record Commission.
The Select Committee on Temporary Laws, Expired or Expiring was a select committee of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom appointed in 1796 to inspect and consider all the temporary laws of a public nature, which are expired or expiring.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Commons, Great Britain House of (1797). The Journals of the House of Commons. Vol.52. pp.92, 157, 386, 404, 412–413, 434, 451, 510, 517, 522, 633, 641, 653–654. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
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