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.
Revision of the statutes was regarded by the Parliament of England as desirable as early as 1563 (see the preamble to the act 5 Eliz. 1. c. 4). It was demanded by a petition of the Commons in 1610. Both Coke and Bacon were employed for some time on a commission for revision. [1]
Halsbury's Laws said that the first act for statute law revision (in the sense of repealing enactments which are obsolete, spent, unnecessary or superseded, or which no longer serve a useful purpose) was the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64). [2]
O. Hood Phillips defined statute law revision as "the reprinting of statute law with the omission of obsolete matter". [3]
Legislation.gov.uk uses the terms "revise", "revised" and "revision" to refer to the editorial process of incorporating amendments and carrying through other effects into legislation. [4]
The Law Commission said that statute law revision originally referred to the repeal of enactments which had become inoperative, in order to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes. They said that they intended to adopt a more forceful approach by also repealing enactments which no longer served a substantial purpose, and that they hoped that this would also facilitate consolidation. [5]
It is the duty of the Law Commission to prepare from time to time at the request of the Lord Chancellor comprehensive programmes of statute law revision, and to undertake the preparation of draft Bills pursuant to any such programme approved by the Lord Chancellor. [6]
It is the duty of the Scottish Law Commission to prepare from time to time at the request of the Scottish Ministers comprehensive programmes of statute law revision, and to undertake the preparation of draft Bills pursuant to any such programme approved by the Scottish Ministers. [7]
In 1971, the Law Commission said that not all statute law revision was being done by Statute Law Revision Bills or Statute Law (Repeals) Bills. They said that an example of this was the statute law revision effected by the Theft Act 1968. [8]
In the law of the Republic of Ireland, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) is involved in several types of statute law revision: consolidation of dispersed statutes, repeal of dead statutes, and "restatement" (publication of revised, current versions) of amended statutes. As regards consolidation and repeal, the LRC only makes recommendations, which are implemented by act of the Oireachtas (parliament). The LRC's remit under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 is to make proposals for law reform, defined as "its development, its codification (including in particular its simplification and modernisation) and the revision and consolidation of statute law". [9] [10] The Statute Law (Restatement) Act 2002, modelled on the schemes in New South Wales and Queensland, [11] empowers the Attorney General to authorise official restatements, which do not have force of law but are prima facie evidence of the state of the law. [12] After four pilot restatements, responsibility for restatements was transferred from the Attorney General's office to the LRC in 2006. [13] The Attorney General's electronic Irish Statute Book (eISB) includes the text of all statutes as enacted, each of which links to the LRC's corresponding revised version where available; [14] as of 12 April 2021 [update] the LRC has restated 408 acts and two statutory instruments. [15] Repeal of dead statutes falls under the Statute Law Revision Programme, begun in 2003 in the Attorney General's office, transferred in 2012 to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and retransferred in 2020 to the LRC. [16]
In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster-influenced jurisdictions, as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title and a long title.
Statute Law Revision Act is a stock short title which has been used in Antigua, Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Canada, Ghana, the Republic of Ireland, South Africa and the United Kingdom, for Acts with the purpose of statute law revision. Such Acts normally repealed legislation which was expired, spent, repealed in general terms, virtually repealed, superseded, obsolete or unnecessary. In the United Kingdom, Statute Law (Repeals) Acts are now passed instead. "Statute Law Revision Acts" may collectively refer to enactments with this short title.
Statute Law (Repeals) Act is a stock short title which is used for acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom whose purpose is to repeal enactments which are no longer of practical utility. These acts are drafted by the Law Commission and the Scottish Law Commission.
The Short Titles Act 1896 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Short Titles Act 1892.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1948 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Interpretation Act 1889 was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Piracy Act 1850, sometimes called the Pirates Repeal Act 1850, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It relates to proceedings for the condemnation of ships and other things taken from pirates and creates an offence of perjury in such proceedings.
A revised edition of the statutes is an edition of the Revised Statutes in the United Kingdom. These editions are published by authority.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1861 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
A collective title is an expression by which two or more pieces of legislation may, under the law of the United Kingdom, be cited together. A famous example is the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1863 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It 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.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1870 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1871 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1872 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1872 or the Statute Law Revision Act 1872 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1874 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
The Statute Law Revision Act 1892 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was the Statute Law Revision Bill 1892.
The Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879, sometimes called the Irish Statute Law Revision Act, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was the Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill.
The act 19 & 20 Vict. c. 64, sometimes referred to as the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
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