Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002

Law Commission

50 Law Commission

(1) There is to be a body corporate known as the Northern Ireland Law Commission.

(2) The Commission is to consist of—

(a) a chairman, and

(b) four other Commissioners,

appointed by the Secretary of State.

(3) The chairman is to be a person who holds the office of judge of the High Court.

(4) Of the other Commissioners—

(a) one is to be a person appearing to the Secretary of State to be suitably qualified to be a Commissioner by experience as a barrister,

(b) one is to be a person appearing to the Secretary of State to be suitably qualified to be a Commissioner by experience as a solicitor,

(c) one is to be a person appearing to the Secretary of State to be suitably qualified to be a Commissioner by experience as a teacher of law in a university, and

(d) the other is to be a person who does not hold (and has never held) judicial office and is not (and has never been) a barrister, solicitor or teacher of law in a university.

(5) Before appointing a person to be a Commissioner the Secretary of State must consult—

(a) the Lord Chancellor,

(b) the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and

(c) the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

(6) In appointing persons to be Commissioners, the Secretary of State must so far as possible secure that the Commissioners (taken together) are representative of the community in Northern Ireland.

(7) Schedule 9 makes further provision about the Commission.

51 Duties of Commission

(1) The Commission must keep under review the law of Northern Ireland with a view to its systematic development and reform, including in particular by—

(a) codification,

(b) the elimination of anomalies,

(c) the repeal of legislation which is no longer of practical utility, and

(d) the reduction of the number of separate legislative provisions,

and generally by simplifying and modernising it.

(2) For that purpose the Commission must—

(a) consider any proposals for the reform of the law of Northern Ireland made or referred to it,

(b) prepare and submit to the Secretary of State (from time to time) programmes for the examination of different branches of that law with a view to reform, including recommendations as to the agency (whether itself or another body) by which any such examination should be carried out,

(c) undertake, pursuant to any such recommendations approved by the Secretary of State, the examination of particular branches of that law and the formulation (by means of draft legislation or otherwise) of proposals for reform of those branches,

(d) prepare (from time to time) at the request of the Secretary of State comprehensive programmes of consolidation and repeal of legislation, and undertake the preparation of draft legislation pursuant to any such programme approved by the Secretary of State,

(e) provide advice and information to government departments and, with the consent of the Secretary of State, to Northern Ireland departments and other authorities or bodies concerned with proposals for the reform or amendment of any branch of the law of Northern Ireland, and

(f) obtain such information as to the legal systems of other countries as appears to the Commission likely to facilitate the performance of its other duties.

(3) Before approving any programme prepared by the Commission, the Secretary of State must consult—

(a) the Lord Chancellor,

(b) the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and

(c) the Attorney General for Northern Ireland.

(4) In performing its duties the Commission must consult—

(a) the Law Commission,

(b) the Scottish Law Commission, and

(c) the Law Reform Commission of the Republic of Ireland.

(5) The Commission must make an annual report on how it has performed its duties.

52 Reports etc.

(1) The Commission must send to the Secretary of State and the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister a copy of—

(a) each programme prepared by the Commission and approved by the Secretary of State,

(b) each set of proposals for reform formulated by the Commission pursuant to such a programme, and

(c) each annual report of the Commission.

(2) The Secretary of State must lay before each House of Parliament a copy of each document received by him under subsection (1).

(3) The First Minister and deputy First Minister, acting jointly, must lay before the Assembly a copy of each document received by their Office under subsection (1).

(4) After a copy of a document has been laid in accordance with subsections (2) and (3), the Commission must arrange for the document to be published.