• Source: Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879

The Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879 (42 & 43 Vict. c. 24), sometimes called the Irish Statute Law Revision Act, is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for Ireland enactments of the Parliament of Ireland from 1537 to 1800 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of the revised edition of the Irish statutes, then in progress.




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In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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.
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. From 1810 to 1825, The Statutes of the Realm was published, providing for the first time the authoritative collection of acts. In 1816, both Houses of Parliament, passed resolutions that an eminent lawyer with 20 clerks be commissioned to make a digest of the statutes, which was declared "very expedient to be done." However, this was never done.
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. 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. The Commission made four reports.
An alternative approach, focusing on expunging obsolete laws from the statute book, followed by consolidation, was proposed by Peter Locke King MP, who was heavily critical of the expenditure of the Commission and the lack of results. This approach was taken by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856 (19 & 20 Vict. c. 64), considered to be the first Statute Law Revision Act.
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.




Passage


Leave to bring in the Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill was granted to the Attorney-General for Ireland, Edward Gibson had its first reading in the House of Commons on 23 April 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Commons on 7 May 1879 and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 8 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 10 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The re-introduced Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 12 May 1879. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 13 May 1879, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Hugh Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns, and was committed to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 27 May 1879, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 29 May 1879 and passed, without amendments.
The bill was granted royal assent on 3 July 1879.




Legacy


The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the Irish statutes, however no further Statute Law Revision Acts for Ireland were passed in the 19th-century.
The schedule to the act was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 56).
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 savings in the act were considered to be complex. As to savings in this act, see Queen v Justices of Meath. As to amendments by this act, see The State (O'Connor) v O'Caomh-Anaigh.




Repealed acts


Section 1 of the act repealed 1023 enactments, listed in the schedule to the act, across six categories:

Expired
Spent
Repealed in general terms
Virtually repealed
Superseded
Obsolete
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


Statute Law Revision Act




Notes






References






External links


List of amendments and repeals in the Republic of Ireland from the Irish Statute Book

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872
• Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879
• Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1878
• Statute Law Revision Act
• Statute Law Revision Act 1863
• Statute Law Revision Act 1887
• Statute Law Revision Act 1878
• Statute Law Revision Act 1892
• Statute Law Revision Act 1891
• Statute Law Revision Act 1890