Statute Law Revision Act 1867

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Statute Law Revision Act 1867 [1]
Act of Parliament
Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (1837).svg
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title An Act for further promoting the Revision of the Statute Law by repealing certain Enactments which have ceased to be in force or have become unnecessary.
Citation 30 & 31 Vict. c. 59
Territorial extent  United Kingdom
Dates
Royal assent 15 July 1867
Commencement 15 July 1867 [2]
Other legislation
AmendsSee § Repealed acts
Repeals/revokesSee § Repealed acts
Amended by
Relates to
Status: Amended
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Statute Law Revision Act 1867 (30 & 31 Vict. c. 59) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom statutes that had ceased to be in force. The Act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.

Contents

Background

In the United Kingdom, Acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed. Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, published in the late 18th-century, raised questions about the system and structure of the common law and the poor drafting and disorder of the existing statute book. [3]

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. [4] From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. [4] In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statues, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done. [5] .

At the start of the parliamentary session in 1853, Lord Cranworth announced his intention to the improvement of the statute law and in March 1853, appointed the Board for the Revision of the Statute Law to repeal expired statutes and continue consolidation, with a wider remit that included civil law. [4] The Board issued three reports, recommending the creation of a permanent body for statute law reform.

In 1854, Lord Cranworth appointed the Royal Commission for Consolidating the Statute Law to consolidate existing statutes and enactments of English law. [4] The Commission made four reports. Recommendations made by the Commission were implemented by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64).

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. [4] In 1861, the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 101) was passed, which repealed or amended over 800 statutes for the United Kingdom. In 1863, the Statute Law Revision Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. 125) was passed, which repealed or amended over 1,600 statutes for England and Wales.

Legacy

The Act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes. [6]

The Act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010. [7]

The enactments which were repealed (whether for the whole or any part of the United Kingdom) by the Act were repealed so far as they extended to the Isle of Man [8] on 25 July 1991. [9]

The 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.

The schedule to the Act was repealed by section 1 of, and the schedule to, the Statute Law Revision Act 1893.

Repealed acts

Section 1 of the Act repealed over 1,600 Acts, listed in the Schedule to the Act, across six categories: [10] [lower-alpha 1]

Section 1 of the Act included several safeguards to ensure that the repeal does not negatively affect existing rights or ongoing legal matters. Specifically, any legal rights, privileges, or remedies already obtained under the repealed laws, as well as any legal proceedings or principles established by them, remain unaffected. Section 1 of the Act also ensured that repealed enactments that have been incorporated into other laws would continue to have legal effect in those contexts. Moreover, the repeal would not revive any former rights, offices, or jurisdictions that had already been abolished.

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised by section 2 of this Act.
  2. ↑ The Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793
  3. ↑ Farmer, Lindsay (2000). "Reconstructing the English Codification Debate: The Criminal Law Commissioners, 1833-45". Law and History Review. 18 (2): 397–425. doi:10.2307/744300. ISSN   0738-2480.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Ilbert, Courtenay (1901). Legislative methods and forms. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 57. Retrieved 9 September 2024.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  5. ↑ Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner (5 June 1967). "Consolidation Bills". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 283. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. col. 179.
  6. ↑ Britain, Great (1867). A collection of the public general statutes passed in the ... year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. pp. 374–460.
  7. ↑ The Chronological Table of the Statutes, 1235 - 2010. The Stationery Office. 2011. ISBN   978-0-11-840509-6. Part 1. Page 447, read with pages viii and x.
  8. ↑ The Statute Law Revision (Isle of Man) Act 1991, sections 1(1) and 2(2) and Schedule 1
  9. ↑ The Interpretation Act 1978, section 4(b)
  10. ↑ [Bill 194] Statute Law Revision [H. L.]. Parliamentary papers. Vol. HC Bills 1867 VI (194) 119. 6 June 1867.

Notes

  1. ↑ The Note of the Bill, unlike the Schedule, gives commentary on each Act, noting any earlier repeals and the reason for the new repeal
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