• Source: Statute Law Revision Act 1867

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 c. 59) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that repealed for the United Kingdom enactments from 1688 to 1770 which had ceased to be in force or had become necessary. The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.




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In the United Kingdom, acts of Parliament remain in force until expressly repealed.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he had engaged Sir Francis Reilly and A. J. Wood to expurgate the statute book of all acts which, though not expressly repealed, were not in force, working backwards from the present time.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


The Statute Law Revision Bill had its first reading in the House of Lords on 21 May 1867, introduced by the Lord Chancellor, Frederic Thesiger, 1st Baron Chelmsford. The bill had its second reading in the House of Lords on 28 May 1867 and was committed to a committee of the whole house. In his speech in support of the bill, the Lord Chancellor explained that the bill aimed at filling the gap between the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 and the Statute Law Revision Act 1863, which had covered 10 Geo. 3 to 21 & 22 Vict. and the Magna Carta to the end of the Reign of James II respectively. On the passing of the act, the revised edition of the statutes would be six or seven volumes, instead of the eighty-five or eighty-six before (when including repeals by the Statute Law Revision Act 1861 and the Statute Law Revision Act 1863). The Committee met and reported on 31 May 1867, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 3 June 1867 and passed, without amendments.
The bill had its first reading in the House of Commons on 6 June 1867, second reading in the House of Commons on 13 June 1867 and was referred to a committee of the whole house, which met and reported on 24 June 1867, without amendments. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons on 1 July 1867 and passed, without amendments.
The bill was granted royal assent on 15 July 1867.




Legacy


The act was intended, in particular, to facilitate the preparation of a revised edition of the statutes.
The act was partly in force in Great Britain at the end of 2010.
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 on 25 July 1991.
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 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 14).




Repealed acts


Section 1 of the act repealed 1,386 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






Further reading


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

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Statute Law Revision Act 1867
• Statute Law Revision Act
• Statute Law Revision Act 1863
• Statute Law (Ireland) Revision Act 1872
• Statute Law Revision Act 1892
• Statute Law Revision Act 1873
• Statute Law Revision Act 1878
• Meeting of Parliament Act 1694
• Statute Law Revision Act 1872
• Statute Law Revision (Ireland) Act 1879