Statute Law Revision Act 1861

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Statute Law Revision Act 1861 [a]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act for promoting the Revision of the Statute Law by repealing divers Acts and Parts of Acts which have ceased to be in force.
Citation 24 & 25 Vict. c. 101
Introduced by John Campbell, 1st Baron Campbell (Lords)
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 6 August 1861
Commencement 6 August 1861 [b]
Repealed19 November 1998
Other legislation
AmendsSee § Repealed enactments
Repeals/revokesSee § Repealed enactments
Repealed by Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998
Relates to
Status: Repealed
History of passage through Parliament
Records of Parliamentary debate relating to the statute from Hansard
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict c 101) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first of the series of Statute Law Revision Acts. [1] [2] It was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes. [3] It repealed the whole or portions of 884 Acts, [4] passed between 11 Geo 3 (1771) [5] and 16 & 17 Vict (1853). [6]

Contents

Drafting

On 17 February 1860, the Attorney General, Sir Richard Bethell told the House of Commons that he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all Acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time. [7]

Parliamentary debates

The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 24 August 1860, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth. [8] The Bill did not progress in that parliamentary session. [9]

The re-introduced Statute Law Revision Bill had had its first reading in the House of Lords on 11 February 1861, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Robert Rolfe, 1st Baron Cranworth. [10] In his speech introducing the Bill, the Lord Cranworth explained that the Bill aimed to repeal outdated laws to simplify and consolidate the legal code, allowing for a more manageable and up-to-date statute book by cutting it down to one-fourth of its original size.

The Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 28 February 1861 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, [11] which met and reported without amendment on 7 March 1861. [12] The Bill was criticised by the former Lord Chancellor, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford, who voiced concerns about the process, particularly regarding the heavy reliance on two legal experts without further scrutiny by the House and by Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 4th Earl of Donoughmore, who suggested the Bill ought to be referred to a select committee. The Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 8 March 1861, [13] with amendments. [14]

The Bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 11 March 1861, [15] its second reading in the House of Commons on 15 April 1861, and was and committed to a select committee. [16] The Select Committee was discharged and the Bill was committed to a committee of the whole house on 26 July 1861, [17] which met and reported on 30 July 1861, [18] with amendments. [17] The amended Bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 31 July 1861. [19] The amended Bill was considered and agreed to by the House of Lords on 2 August 1861. [14]

The Bill was granted royal assent on 6 August 1861. [20]

Provisions

Section 1 includes the original version of the Westbury saving. [21]

Repeal, retention and application

This Act was repealed for the United Kingdom by Group 1 of Part IX of Schedule 1 to the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998.

The enactments which were repealed (whether for the whole or any part of the United Kingdom) by this Act were repealed so far as they extended to the Isle of Man [22] on 25 July 1991. [23]

This Act was retained for the Republic of Ireland by section 2(2)(a) of, and Part 4 of Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ Williams, James (1911). "Statute"  . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  2. ↑ The Act 19 & 20 Vict c 64 has also been described the first Statute Law Revision Act: Ilbert, p 57.
  3. ↑ The Statute Law Revision Act 1861, preamble
  4. ↑ (1861) 25 The Justice of the Peace 641 (12 October 1861)
  5. ↑ The first Act in the Schedule is the Militia Act 1771 (11 Geo 3 c 32), passed 29 April 1771: 33 Journals of the House of Commons 357; Current Law Statutes 1998, vol 3.
  6. ↑ The final Act in the Schedule is the Metropolitan Sewers Acts Continuance Act (1853) (16 & 17 Vict c 125), passed 20 August 1853: Paterson, Practical Statutes, 1853, p 463.
  7. ↑ Courtney Ilbert. Legislative Methods and Forms. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1901. pp 59 & 60.
  8. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 160. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 24 August 1860. col. 1760.
  9. ↑ Parliament, Great Britain (1860). Hansard's Parliamentary Debates. Hansard. p. 1759.
  10. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 161. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 11 February 1861. col. 268.
  11. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 161. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 28 February 1861. col. 1058.
  12. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 161. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 7 March 1861. col. 1527—1528.
  13. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 161. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 8 March 1861. col. 1628.
  14. 1 2 Lords, Great Britain Parliament House of (1861). Journals of the House of Lords. H.M. Stationery Office. pp. 81, 627.
  15. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 121. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 11 March 1861. col. 1711.
  16. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 122. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 15 April 1861. col. 543.
  17. 1 2 Commons, Great Britain Parliament House of (1861). Journals of the House of Commons (PDF). Vol. 116. By order of the House of Commons. pp. 400, 412. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  18. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 164. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 30 July 1861. col. 1794—1798.
  19. ↑ "Statute Law Revision Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 122. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Commons. 31 July 1861. col. 1798.
  20. ↑ "Royal Assent". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 122. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 6 August 1861. col. 1883.
  21. ↑ The Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission. Statute Law Revision: Sixteenth Report. 1998. p 102.
  22. ↑ The Statute Law Revision (Isle of Man) Act 1991, sections 1(1) and 2(2) and Schedule 1
  23. ↑ The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
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