In my last blog post, we looked at some of the advantages of the Law Commission and the many ways in which it can help the legal system and keep things fair. However, there are a few slight disadvantages to it, which we will be looking at in this blog post. First of all, we will have a quick review of what the Law Commission is and how it works, so that this is fresh in your mind.
What is the Law Commission?
The Law Commission is an independent review body that aims to ensure the law is as fair, modern, simple and cost-effective as possible. They conduct research and consultations so that they can make recommendations to Parliament. In addition, they try to codify the law, eliminate anomalies, repeal obsolete and unnecessary laws and reduce the number of statutes. The Law Commission being independent gives them more freedom to pick the areas of law that most need attention without needing to worry about any possible consequences.
The Board of the Law Commission is made up of the Chair, four other Commissioners, the Chief Executive, up to three Non-Executive Board Members, the Head of Legal Services and the Head of Corporate Services. Legal Team Managers and the Senior Parliamentary Counsel are also on hand to advise the Board if necessary.
The Chair will be either a High Court or an Appeal Court judge, appointed by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice for up to three years. The four Commissioners will be experienced judges, barristers, solicitors and teachers of law who are appointed in the same way for up to five years, although this can be extended.
The role of the Non-Executive Board Members was established in 2013. They provide support, independent challenge and expertise on issues of governance and strategic management. The Chief Executive, Government Legal Service, Parliamentary Counsel and research assistants support the Commissioners.
The Law Commission chooses new projects based on their importance, how suitable they are for review by the Commission and what resources the Commission has available in terms of funding, time and experience. Once a project has been chosen, it will go through the different stages of consultation and then be presented for consideration.
What are the Disadvantages?
Long Process
Reviewing and suggesting reforms to the law takes a considerable amount of time, so any change will be slow to happen. It can take years for a full report to be created and ready to present to the government. By this time, it is possible that there will be new developments in case law that mean earlier parts of the Law Commission’s review need to be looked at again before the report is ready.
This means that a Law Commission review is not a suitable solution when the law needs swift change to be made. This situation would need Parliament to create the new law without the benefit of the Law Commission’s report and expertise. This could lead to a new law that only addresses some of the problems with the law as it stood or one that could lead to new problems in a different area of law.
In addition, if the Law Commission had already been reviewing that area of law, they would have to go back and look again. They might even have to start from scratch, which would again delay the review process.
Heavy Workload
Part of the reason why the reviews take so long is that the Law Commission has a very heavy workload. They will be reviewing multiple areas of the law at the same time, so they can’t afford to focus too much of their time and attention on any one area.
This splitting of attention also means that some areas may not be reviewed as intensely as others. However, the Law Commission does aim to treat all reviews equally and thoroughly research all of them, so this likely won’t be a problem.
Not All Reforms are Implemented
A further problem with the Law Commission is that they are not in control of whether or not a proposed reform actually becomes law. It is the government that decides this after examining the Law Commission’s report. Alternatively, the government might implement some of a proposal, but not all.
This means that valuable time and resources are wasted on a report that is never actually implemented. This then leaves other areas that need reform without any attention, meaning that some law never gets investigated.
Government Doesn’t Have to Consult Them
Finally, the government is not obliged to consult the Law Commission or wait for a report before enacting a new law. The Law Commission cannot ensure that all legislation made is fully researched by them.
Wrapping Up
I hope that this helps you to understand the limitations of the Law Commission. In my next blog post, we will be looking at the benefits of the Crown Prosecution Service, so come back in two weeks for that!
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